


FADEonline

by mechawaka



Category: Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/F, F/M, Modern AU, Slow Build
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-12-10
Updated: 2016-07-21
Packaged: 2018-02-28 22:18:07
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 21,966
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2749187
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mechawaka/pseuds/mechawaka
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ellana Lavellan is the manager at The Crossroads, a small bookstore that is co-owned by her friends Leliana and Josephine. Ella is also an avid player of the popular mmo FADEonline, where she runs a guild called Inquisition. She knows most of the guild members outside of the game, but will soon become acquainted with the rest of them. She's most excited to meet one in particular - a politely flirtatious, enigmatic player that goes by "dreadwolf."</p><p>*1/19* Bumped rating up to Mature for content starting in Ch. 7</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. But seriously, there's no mana cost

**Author's Note:**

> Clarification for everyone's online names:
> 
> Lavellan: Inquisitor  
> Cullen: lionheart73  
> Leliana: nightingale  
> Josephine: scribblemancer  
> Cole: hidden_blades  
> Blackwall: Blackwall  
> Sera: fiddle-flumper  
> Cassandra: Calogera  
> Solas: dreadwolf  
> Dorian: bloodforged  
> Iron Bull: The_Iron_Bull  
> Vivienne: Lady-of-the-Ice  
> Varric: officialvarrictethras
> 
> (Blackwall and Iron Bull dislike their names irl, so they insist on being called by their handles even in friendly company)
> 
> *2/28* Oops! Realized this was at the end, where it was not helpful in the least - moved to the beginning

****

**[Inquisitor] has logged in**

[flamerage] says: don’t even know why i try with you

[endless_skies] says: dude stfu fade step costs NO mana we are not arguing this

[Calogera] says: GM online

[flamerage] says: ok be wrong idc

[flamerage] says: morning quiz

[Inquisitor] says: morning! :)

_[Calogera] whispers: flame and skies have been at it again_

[fiddle-flumper] says: aright youre both tits can we not do this the chat is flooded

[dreadwolf] says: Flamerage, the spell description clearly says there is no mana cost.

[flamerage] says: then why does it cost mana when i fuckin cast it

_To [Calogera]: Oh boy. how long this time?_

[dreadwolf] says: Good morning, Inquisitor :D

[endless_skies] says: morning quiz

[endless_skies] says: look flame you’re wrong about literally everything. just bring up your skills and read them

**[lionheart73] has logged in**

_[Calogera] whispers: at least an hour. that’s when I logged in._

[Inquisitor] says: flame, maybe the mana cost is coming from something you chain with fade step? what’s your setup?

[Calogera] says: morning lion

[fiddle-flumper] says: quiz don’t bother. too early for this shite

_[fiddle-flumper] whispers: also i need weirdo to cover my shift today k_

[endless_skies] says: what setup? he just runs full winter with no skill

[Inquisitor] says: morning wolf :3 how was shayna without me?

_To [Calogera]: ok later me, you and the COs really need to talk about kicking flame and/or skies_

_To [fiddle-flumper]: Why this time? :o_

[lionheart73] says: morning Cal

[flamerage] says: fuck this

**[flamerage] has logged out**

[dreadwolf] says: Took twice as long since we had to pug dps. FIDS

_To [lionheart73]: meeting after work about flame and skies_

[fiddle-flumper] says: listen, you. not all of us play fade 24/7

[endless_skies] says: blocking chat. gonna go grind trolls

_[fiddle-flumper] whispers: i got stuff to do ok. bye_

[Lady-of-the-Ice] says: Good riddance. Maybe the chat will be calm now.

_[lionheart73] whispers: Cal already told me. I’ll be here_

**[fiddle-flumper] has logged out**

_To [fiddle-flumper]: Sera, you can’t just skip your shift like that_

_[your message could not be delivered]_

[dreadwolf] says: Those two certainly keep it lively, yes.

[lionheart73] says: anyone for villa?

_[Calogera] whispers: i have informed lion of our meeting_

[Inquisitor] says: wish I could. gotta get to work early

[Inquisitor] says: just logged on for dailies first

[dreadwolf] says: Unfortunate :( I’ll go, though, lion.

_To [dreadwolf]: I know right? if that damn staff drops, i’ll buy it off you_

[Calogera] says: Count me in. Can we run it with 3?

[Calogera] says: forge will be on soon if we need more

_[dreadwolf] whispers: In that case, I will cross my fingers that it drops._

[Lady-of-the-Ice] says: Oh, please, forge is terrible support. I’ll go.

[lionheart73] says: Great! I’ll send invites

_To [dreadwolf]: Good luck ;)_

[Inquisitor] says: I’m out guys

**[Inquisitor] has logged out**

****  
  


Ellana nearly tripped over her headphones’ wire as she scrambled from her desk to the bathroom, earning a dry chuckle from the kitchen. She scowled around the elastic in her teeth, pulling her auburn hair into a loose ponytail and calling out, “Not a word!” when her mouth was free.

“Lost track of time flirting?” Her roommate suggested with a smirk, appearing seemingly out of nowhere to lean against the doorframe. A year ago, Ella would have jumped out of her skin at such a sight, but not anymore. Leliana was just like that; silent as a mouse.

“No!” Ellana protested, too quickly, and ignored the faint blush that spread from her freckled cheeks to her ears. She raked her toothbrush impatiently across her teeth, rolling her eyes, then leaned over the sink to spit. When she righted herself, Leliana’s reflection was quirking an eyebrow. Ellana stomped her foot. “Hey, a little flirtation never hurt anyone!”

Her roommate’s mocking laughter followed her all the way down the hall. “Ella, sorry. I’m sorry.” Leliana caught her friend’s arm, holding the car keys up as a peace offering. Ellana snatched them up quickly. “It’s just funny! You have to admit.” Leliana’s mouth, a disciplined line, started to twitch back into a grin. “I mean, out of everyone,” she couldn’t suppress a snicker, “ _Wolf_.”

Ellana narrowed her eyes, shrugging into a plain white sweater. “So what you mean to say is: you’re not actually sorry at all.” She ushered them both out the door and locked it. “I happen to think Wolf is very interesting.”

“ _Obviously_. Ow!” Leliana recoiled from a jab to her ribs, still tittering as they reached their barely-running, insultingly blue Ford Taurus. “It’s just so unlike you.”

“What is? Having harmless internet fun? Dammit,” Ellana cursed under her breath when she caught herself in the rear view mirror, pushing gently on the dark bags under her forest-green eyes.

Leliana clicked her tongue against the roof of her mouth as they pulled out of the driveway. “Mmm, five hours of sleep will do that to your complexion.”

“Yeah, and I wasn’t about to let Bull tank alone for Vinsomer.” Ellana muttered defensively, mentally picturing the self-satisfied look on her roommate’s face without even having to look.


	2. Josephine the enforcer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> No Solas in this chapter, but I promise he'll be along soon

 

The gap in the line of books sat smugly, just out of her reach, mocking her with its emptiness. Ellana strained to get _one_ more inch out of her arm, to push the spine a _little_ farther with the tips of her fingers, but the stubborn book simply teetered on the edge of the shelf, threatening to fall each time she exhaled.

“Not in the mood for your shit today,” she warned it sternly, very nearly climbing the lower shelves to maneuver the book into place, and finally it slid into the gap with a satisfying thunk. Ellana stepped back to survey her work, a triumphant smile tugging at the corners of her mouth, but such victories were short-lived in the labyrinthine aisles of The Crossroads; in her haste to see the completed row, her shoulder brushed against a yet-to-be-shelved stack of Westerns.

She winced away from the dull tumble of heavy paper on wood, shoulders sagging at the prospect of picking them all up again. So much for a lunch break. The sweat cooling against her forehead and the ache in her lower back didn’t stop her from grinning, though, as she neatly stacked the hardcovers back up against an empty shelf. _This_ \- the musty smell of the old books mixed with the inky smell of the new ones, the hazards of the narrow aisles, the deep contentment of a perfectly aligned row - was the purest joy for Ellana Lavellan. If someone had approached her three years prior and suggested that, at twenty-four years old, she’d be an internet-addicted college dropout that _enjoyed_ being a glorified librarian, well, she would have laughed right in that someone’s face. But, here it was, happening.

“Can I help?” Cole leaned around the doorway to the front room of the store, ice-blue eyes bright, as they always were, at the opportunity to assist. Though his voice was eager, his arms were crossed tightly over his chest, pale fingers plucking absently at the long sleeves of his shirt. Ellana knew that body language all too well, having only broken herself of it recently: an artifact of a lifetime of low self-esteem.

She wiped a few errant strands of hair out of her face, careful to hide her concern. He preferred to keep his affairs to himself, and by God, Ellana was determined to fight all of her nosy instincts to respect that. “I’m all good here,” she replied lightly, bracing herself on a wall to stand up again, “thanks, though.”

He smiled, the slightest of curves to his thin lips, and disappeared back into the front room to resume his position at the cash register. No words wasted with that one.

“Progress?” Leliana’s voice, steely and serious, very unlike her usual self, called from the back of the store. Ellana liked Business Leliana; she was efficient and diligent, and didn’t tease people about their perfectly valid hobbies.

“All done with romantic fiction. What’s next?” Ella called back, weaving her way through the asymmetrical maze of bookshelves to the offices. She glanced down at her watch on the way, startled to find that it was already half past three. “Should I set up the new display for _Swords_?”

Leliana came into view around a large box of magazines, afloat in a sea of clipboards and folders that contained new and proposed contracts with publishers. She looked up from her work, staring blankly for a moment before her gray-blue eyes snapped into focus. “Ah! Yes. Please do that.” Her tireless hands absently opened up another folder as she spoke. “Josie and I can handle the rest of the new stock later.”

“Can do,” Ellana made to re-enter the labyrinth but was delayed by a sudden grunt; very characteristic of Business Leliana.

“ _And_ , if you happen to see Josie, politely ask her to reconsider hiring an extra part-timer, would you?” The overworked buyer/contract negotiator/owner gestured irritably to the mountain of paperwork on her desk for emphasis.

Ellana answered with a pointed nod and a smirk - it was too uncomfortably close to four o’clock for any more words. The elaborate display for the latest novel in the _Swords & Shields_ saga, along with a table, chairs, and crowd control ropes, all needed to be set up in under half an hour. And she did _not_ want to be around for the wrath of Varric Tethras should his book signing event go awry.

Cole watched with rapt attention as Ellana dragged the gaudy cardboard facade out of the prop closet, springing immediately into action when she finally waved him over to help. It couldn’t hurt, she reasoned, to get him out of that boring corner every now and again. He worked with the ghost of a smile on his lips, and with his enthusiastic assistance they managed to unfold the last chair right as Varric barged in, pre-emptively grinning. Ellana leered back at him as his face fell into a scowl.

“Oh, no fun.” He grumbled, taking his seat behind a folding table and testing the head of a pen on his hand. “I wanted to see everyone flustered and scrambling.”

“No such luck, I’m afraid.” Ellana laughed, lowering herself into a chair beside him for a much-needed breather. She jerked a thumb back toward Cole, who had resumed his place behind the cash register. “He’s my secret weapon.”

Varric clutched his heart in mock surprise. “Kid! You traitor.” His eyes narrowed mischievously. “I’m not handing over that dagger, now.”

“NOGAW!” Josephine yelled from her small adjoining office, and they all turned to see her signature red pen pointing authoritatively at them. She’d invoked one of the most important rules that governed their professional lives: NOGAW, or No Game at Work. At first they’d pronounced the letters individually, but now it was more of a phonetic reading, as if the acronym had become a word unto itself. Josephine raised her dark eyebrows and pursed her lips, daring anyone to pursue the forbidden topic.

Varric rolled his eyes. “Fine, fine.”

“You didn’t mean that?” Cole whispered, lacing his fingers together anxiously.

“ _Cole_!”

“Sorry.”

 


	3. Cass literally no one cares

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ella and the chief officers discuss the problem players. Bonus embarrassed Cassandra

 

Ella pushed down the blinds as slowly as she could, just a hair, and surveyed the street outside. Cal was right; not many people had showed up for the book signing. The line barely reached outside the store - forty people, _maybe_. Still though, their small-time author’s stubby fingers could only scribble _so_ fast, and she doubted that many people could sign their name in flourishing script forty times in two minutes.

“Please allow me to guess.” Josephine didn’t look up from her computer screen, but tapped her foot impatiently against her desk. “Cass is here.”

“Yup.” Ellana popped the word out like it was bubblegum, watching Cal pace nervously back and forth in the coffee shop across the street, much to the confusion of the baristas.

“And she refuses to come inside, again.”

“Yup yup.”

“And she thinks she is being clever by hiding in Red Roast instead of Dagna’s.”

Ella laughed so suddenly that it came out as an obnoxious snort, and her fingers slipped off the blinds. “Man, you _know_ her.”

“Naturally.” Josie huffed with a slight dip of her head, swiveling her chair toward the window, computer forgotten. Her aura of polite civility always had a way of cracking when it came to Cal. “When will she realize that we don’t care?”

Ellana didn’t answer, knowing that her friend’s question had been rhetorical. Josie and Cal had been dancing around each other for months, each feeling out the other, both of them too shy and prideful to make the first move. Leliana had suggested several scenarios that might give their awkward friends a bump in the right direction, but Ella had never been quite comfortable with matchmaking. Cal and Josie would set their own pace.

“Knock knock,” came a familiar voice at the door, followed by two actual raps to the wall, “I hope I’m not disturbing you.” Cullen’s hesitant tone always drew a smile out of Ella; the big man was so confident in a position of authority, but interacting with equals always left him slightly off-balance. It was, as it turned out, a hilarious quality for a strip mall security guard.

Josephine waved away his doubt with a flick of her wrist. “Of course not. Is there a problem?” She gave her little office’s window one final, lingering stare before turning her chair back toward the computer. “I have double checked all of our safety measures concerning this event.”

“Oh, no,” Cullen chuckled, a deep rumbling that set several of the ladies waiting in Varric’s line a-twitter, “I was just wondering if it was close enough to five to start our meeting.”

Ellana sucked in her breath excitedly, quickly covering her mouth with both hands to keep from blurting out an answer. Instead she looked to Josephine, the stalwart keeper of NOGAW, for _her_ judgment. Josie, with all the gravity her position entailed, checked the time on her monitor.

“Four thirteen,” she mused, tapping well-manicured fingernails on her desk. “Well, I suppose Cole could lock up after Varric is done.”

\---

The four of them settled into a corner booth at Red Roast, having passed a very flustered and avoidant Cal on the way in. Over the many months of their shared governance of Inquisition, this very booth had seen the passage of almost every rule change and officer addition (or subtraction). Cullen liked to call it their _war table_.

“All right,” Ellana brought her hands down on the table, not too loudly but hard enough to convey the weight of her words, “as most of you know, we have some problem players to discuss.”

To her right, Leliana produced a tablet and brought up several screenshots. “Yes. I’ve captured most of their arguments on my alt.” She passed the tablet across the table to Cullen. “As you can see, they are much more vocal when they believe the chief officers to be offline.”

Josephine sipped at her coffee as she read over the chat logs. “I didn’t realize they were causing so many problems.”

“Indeed.” Cullen handed the tablet back to Leliana, shaking his head. “In that case, I think they should be kicked.”

“Ah, not so fast.” Josie put up a finger for silence when Ella opened her mouth to agree. “We may have another problem.”

Ellana bit back a retort. Whatever her personal feelings toward argumentative players were, she had learned long ago not to dismiss the others’ views. “All right, hit me.”

Leliana cleared her throat softly. “You’re not going to like this, but Josie and I think the guild is getting a little,” she pursed her lips, “cliquish.”

“ _What_?” Ella had to put down her white mocha, which was a statement unto itself. “We have tons of members!”

“Yes,” Josephine continued diplomatically, “but it was just the twelve of us for so long, well, plus Cole recently,” she added with a smile, “some players find it hard to talk to us.”

“I think that kicking flame and skies would add to that alienation. Hardly anyone but us speaks in chat, as it is.” Leliana swiped through her saved chat logs, stopping on one and leaning over to Ella, “Look. Wardog is one of our oldest regular members, and she is considering moving to a guild that would be more inclusive.”

“Perhaps one that doesn’t spy on its members,” Cullen grunted, but Leliana silenced him with a glare.

Ellana read over the log, frowning. “All right, we _can_ be a little closed-off, I guess. But what should we do about it?”

“How about a meetup at FADEcon?” Josie suggested, then added irritably at Ella’s groan, “What? We’re going to go, anyway.”

“Yeah, but _people_.” Ella crossed her arms on the table and pillowed her head on them. In-game, Quiz was this badass guildmaster that could do anything, while boring, real-life Ella got sweaty palms at the thought of making a phone call. “Can’t we just come up with some Christmas event for the guild or something?”

Leliana patted her roommate’s russet hair gently. “Come on, Ella, we’ve been wanting to meet the other regulars for over a year.”

“I like the idea of a meetup.” Cullen rubbed his scruffy jaw. “Those that care enough to know us, will come.”

Josie pulled a leather-bound planner out of her bag, flipping through it until she found the correct date. “Two weeks’ notice is enough, yes? I can update our guild message as soon as I get home.”

Ella dragged herself back into a sitting position and gulped down the rest of her coffee. “Fine. But if it gets weird, I’m out.”

“Fair enough.” Leliana’s mouth tugged into a smirk. “Just _think_ , El, you might finally meet Wolf.”


	4. Maybe get new flooring

**[Inquisitor] has logged in**

[The_Iron_Bull] says: Quiz! Still on for ravager with me and Krem?

[Calogera] says: GM online

[officialvarrictethras] says: Yes, Cal, we ALL get that little login message. Every time.

[officialvarrictethras] says: Evening, Bookworm.

[Inquisitor] says: Of course, Bull :) just one thing first. Did everyone see the new message? who’s planning on going to the con?

[The_Iron_Bull] says: Sweet

[Inquisitor] says: hey varric ^^

[nightingale] says: All the COs will be there, as you know

**[The_Iron_Bull] has invited you to a party**

[bloodforged] says: As delightful as a large gathering of socially awkward misfits sounds, I’m afraid I have to pass. Cons aren’t really my thing.

[Calogera] says: I’m going, but only on Saturday. When and where will the actual meetup take place?

_[dreadwolf] whispers: I left a surprise in your mailbox :)_

[officialvarrictethras] says: I’m definitely going. Everyone visit my table!

 **[Party]** [Cremisius] says: Good to see you, Quiz :)

[The_Iron_Bull] says: Forge, you’re going even if I have to drag you there myself

[scribblemancer] says: I’m working that out with the con staff, Cal. They haven’t specified how they would like meetups to be handled.

[scribblemancer] says: Will update the guild message as soon as I know ^^

[lionheart73] says: invite me for ravager?

 **[Party]** [Inquisitor] says: hey Krem :D

_To [dreadwolf]: I saw it! Thank you bb <3 how much do i owe ya?_

[dreadwolf] says: Me as well, please

**[lionheart73] has joined the party**

**[dreadwolf] has joined the party**

[Blackwall] says: Too far away for me, sorry. Maybe next year.

[Inquisitor] says: :(

[bloodforged] says: Is that a threat or a promise, Bull? ;3

[fiddle-flumper] says: eyy take the flirtin to whispers k

[fiddle-flumper] says: and quiz you know i’m goin

 **[Party]** [Cremisius] says: Wow, nice, we’ll drop ravager in no time. Ready?

[hidden_blades] says: I think I will be able to go.

_[dreadwolf] whispers: Consider it an early Christmas present!_

[scribblemancer] says: Lady? Will you be attending?

[officialvarrictethras] says: She’s been afk for hours

[bloodforged] says: Ah, I thought she was simply ignoring my whispers.

 **[Party]** [Inquisitor] says: Guild business first, sorry! it’ll just be a sec

_To [dreadwolf]: wolf you are literally the sweetest_

**[Party]** [lionheart73] says: Roles?

_[nightingale] whispers: No non-regulars in chat again :/_

[scribblemancer] says: All right, if anyone else decides to attend the meetup, please send me a mail. I would like to have a rough attendance estimate when I choose the venue.

_[dreadwolf] whispers: For getting you a staff? I should like to work harder for that title_

**[Party]** [The_Iron_Bull] says: If you’re asking to be main tank, go for it. Krem’s on adds, I’ll off tank, Quiz dps/support, Wolf control

 **[Party]** [Cremisius] says: One day I’ll be promoted to off tank

[Blackwall] says: I hope you kids have fun

[fiddle-flumper] says: ugh, don’t go talkin like an old grump

 **[Party]** [The_Iron_Bull] says: One day, Krem

_To [nightingale]: Odd hours now, don’t get too down :)_

**[Party]** [dreadwolf] says: Sounds good to me.

_To [dreadwolf]: yeah yeah :P try sweet talking the dragon to death_

[Inquisitor] says: All right, we’re going for Ravager :D blocking main chat

\---

Ellana blinked heavily at the box on her desk, trying to remember what she was supposed to do with it. A dull pounding behind her eyes made her squint at the label, and of course it was scrawled out in Sera’s unintelligible handwriting. Cole watched her closely, fingers curling at his sides, eyes slightly narrowed with anxiety. _Worried about me_ , she realized with a smile, and the drive to reassure him cut through the fog in her mind.

“I’m okay, just a little tired.” She pulled the box across her desk to check the contents. “Thanks for bringing this in. What order is it?”

“Montsimmard. History supplements. For Vivienne.” Cole’s mouth twitched; behind the semi-obscuring veil of his long blonde bangs, his eyes relaxed a little. “Sleep deprivation?”

“Lost track of time last night. I just need some coffee at lunch.” That raid _had_ taken longer than she’d expected, but it was only because Bull’s internet decided to be unreliable. She ran a hand over the spines of the books, counting them out. Forty-seven all together, and she was _pretty_ sure that was a slanted seven next to the four in the numbers field. Well, if there was a problem, Vivienne would definitely let them know.

Cole shuffled his feet, creaking the old floorboards. “Can I help?”

“I’ll be okay, Cole, I promise.” Ella grinned, patting the sides of the box. “I’ll keep this until Viv comes to pick it up. Thanks again for sorting it.”

“You’re welcome.” His shoulders rose slightly as he left, a subtle gesture that - Ella had learned over long months of study - meant he was pleased. Cole. She smiled down at the box, moving it to one side of her workspace. He remained a mystery to the store’s management, though Ella secretly hoped that one day he would warm up to them. She glared at the box’s label; was that a forty-seven or a forty-one? Sera was never going to be allowed near another order ever again.

The floor creaked noisily as another shadow fell across her desk. Ellana pinched the bridge of her nose as she looked up again, muttering, “I’m really okay, Cole-” but the rest of her sentence dwindled into a stunned hiss. The bald, well-dressed man looming over her desk was decidedly _not_ Cole. He flashed her a casual smile, and tiny crow’s feet creased the corners of his light blue eyes.

“ _Lavellan_ ,” he pronounced the name slowly, with a glance back at the nameplate on her door, “a form of Llewellyn, yes?” He brought two thin fingers to his chin in contemplation. “What a clever derivative.”

Ella, with the kind of steely willpower she never thought she’d be able to muster on four hours of sleep, forced her eyes back to a normal size and snapped her hanging jaw closed. “Yes, i-it is,” her already-unstable voice broke and she cleared her throat, taking a moment to cobble together a normal human reply, “are you Welsh?”

“Only by descent.” He laughed, a warm, bubbly little chuckle that made her relax a bit - though she wasn’t sure whether he was amused with her question or her behavior. “I’ve made you uncomfortable with my curiosity. Please forgive me.” He dipped his head apologetically and extended his right arm over the desk. “Solas Argall. I’m here in place of Dr. de Fer.”

She’d recovered enough by that point to shake his hand like a well-adjusted adult would, silently admiring the easy grace with which he’d bypassed the tension. “Ah, then you’re here for _this_.” She pushed the box toward him and dug the order form out of it, presenting it to him along with a pen. “Please fill that out, then you’re good to go.”

He bent over the paper and Ella noticed the strong line of his jaw clench at Sera’s abysmal handwriting. _See, it’s not just me. She is never doing another order._ He rolled up the sleeves of his ivory sweater. “I’ve never been to this bookstore,” he said lightly, signing his name and sliding the form back across the desk, “a most unfortunate state of events until today, considering its particular charms.”

Ellana had a witty reply all loaded and ready to go, right until she looked up from the form and found his gaze fixed intently on her. Under their bright scrutiny, all she could manage was a lame, “Uh, thanks,” while absently smoothing the paper with both hands. As he lifted the box and turned to leave, she called almost as an afterthought, “Is Viv - I mean, Dr. de Fer, okay? Why couldn’t she make it?”

Solas stopped in the doorway, curling long fingers around it. “Oh, she is perfectly well.” A wide grin spread across his face, transforming its fine features instantly from business to mischief. “I simply wanted to meet you early.”

Ella opened her mouth to reply, but he was already gone, polished shoes clicking rapidly through the store. She narrowed her eyes and snatched the order form from the desk, finding to her great dismay that the strange man had doodled in one of the corners.

The ink drawing staring back at her with beady, feral eyes was, without a doubt, a _wolf_.

 


	5. Ella meets the prospect of excitement

 

Ellana had never been accused of excessive security. Acceptable strength, maybe, by most standards. But certainly not _stability_. And she was definitely not equipped to handle this situation; that would require the emotional foundation of a stable person, which Ella was not. Her fingers twitched spasmodically against her thighs as she desperately tried to organize her thoughts.

As if on cue, Cole plopped down onto the old leather couch across from hers, setting a large white mocha - _oh, Cole_ \- on the table between them. She picked it up immediately, stomach churning too much to actually drink it, but grateful for the soothing warmth it radiated. He watched her closely, eyes flicking back and forth from her (pale and tense, she was sure) face to her absently twitching left leg.

“Are you okay?” He asked again, hesitantly, having received no real answer before. That was probably why he’d dragged her from her cramped office to the lounge, opened a window, and sprinted off to Red Roast.

Ellana lifted the cup slightly, saying with what she hoped was a good impression of confidence, “Am now. Thank you.” She willed her leg to stop shaking. _Get it together, Ella. You’re acting like you just witnessed a murder._

Cole squinted at her, both hands buried in the pockets of his black hoodie; well, it might have been black at one point. Like most of his clothing, it was several shades lighter than it should have been and stretched from overuse. He let the silence drag on for a few minutes, mercifully, and Ella felt color and sensation slowly returning to her extremities. “Someone came here,” He spoke gently, keeping his eyes on the front door as if the stranger might return at any moment, “a man you didn’t know?”

“Yeah.” She pushed a hand through her hair, lamenting the hair tie she’d predictably forgotten on the kitchen counter that morning. She sighed into the mocha, braving a small sip of it. “I’m sorry for worrying you, but could you keep this between us?”

“Why?” His voice cut through their bubble of gentle speech, harshly inquisitive, and when Ella looked up his head was angled down, eyes almost completely obscured behind his bangs. “What happened?”

“Nothing,” she spat too quickly, too defensively, and she wasn’t sure why. _He’s only trying to help you,_ she reminded herself with a mental shin-kick. “I just wasn’t prepared. You know me. I startle easily,” Ella tried to play it off with a giggle but, by the hard line of Cole’s mouth, she guessed he wasn’t buying it.

Luckily for her, the front door’s bell rang and Cole stood up reluctantly to assist any potential customers, but not before shooting her a pointed stare that said, quite clearly, _this isn’t over_. Ellana watched him leave with a sort of queasy apprehension.

Of course she didn’t want to _keep_ it from him, it was just…complicated. Wolf must have had his reasons for barging in on her workplace in the middle of the day, unannounced. Besides, it might not have even been Wolf. Maybe the man was just Vivienne’s weird assistant.

Ella leaned back into the plush old leather of the couch, wondering just who she was trying to fool with that line of thought; sure, she was inexperienced in many of the mysterious rituals of human interaction, but she wasn’t so dense as to miss the inflection in his voice when he’d said, “I simply wanted to meet you early.”

_I simply wanted to meet **you** early. I simply wanted to meet you **early**._

She set down her mocha and pulled out her phone to call Vivienne, but paused, thumb hovering over the screen uncertainly. Wolf spoke like he knew Viv and the inner workings of the history department at Montsimmard. At the very least, he had enough information to know exactly when to come and intercept the textbook order. But did Vivienne know _him_? Did she actually send him in her place? Ella crossed her legs, resting an elbow on her knee contemplatively. Though initially shaken, she was starting to become more curious than unsettled. How had he known where to find her? How had he known which employee was Inquisitor?

Truly, the more she thought about it, his appearance smacked of the same cryptic smugness with which he behaved online, never one hundred percent forthright in his actions or intentions. But Ella, along with the other guild members she routinely met outside the game, had just assumed that was his online persona. Everyone had one; they were harmless. Inquisitor, for example, personified all of Ellana’s fervent desires for confidence, competence and leadership, and she was also a _far_ cry from anything Ella could portray in real life.

In-game, Wolf was always surprising her with his shockingly blithe flirtation attempts, which Quiz, in her unending boldness, never failed to return. However, it was all online. It was all part of the game. _Isn’t it?_ Ellana quickly put away her phone and drew out the now-folded order confirmation, studying the skillful little wolf doodle. Was this a _challenge_? One of Wolf’s infamous half-spoken dares?

More importantly: if it was, would it be wise to play along?

She couldn’t suppress a grin at the idea of bringing part of her persona into the real world, dangerous as it sounded. She stood quickly (perhaps too quickly, given the wave of adrenaline-fueled nausea that passed through her system) and grabbed her jacket from a hook near the front counter. Yes, decisiveness. _Danger_. Leliana was always saying that Ella could stand to have a little more spontaneity in her life.

“I’m taking an early lunch,” She proclaimed to Cole, who raised a skeptical hand to catch her, but she spun deftly out of his range and nearly skipped out the door.


	6. No running in the halls

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! :) My goal is to get this fic updating weekly from here on out. We'll see how that goes. 
> 
> Also, the tale Ella is referencing is The Mighty Monster Afang. It's a pretty interesting read!

__

 

_Be as Gadern’s bride,_ _and best your troubles through cleverness and guile,_ Gran Deshanna’s old lessons resounded in Ella’s mind as she stepped off the bus, bringing a small smile to her lips. She’d always challenged her strong-willed grandmother on that principle. _Why not be as Gadern?_ Seventeen-year-old Ella had protested once, tired of the old principle, _why not just wait for someone more clever to fix your problem, then passively bask in the glory after doing minimal work?_

Admittedly, Younger Ellana was very, recklessly disrespectful, and had received many blows from Deshanna’s favorite wooden spoon as a result. But Older Ella had to concede that she’d taken on Gadern’s role for most of her life; she spent a ridiculous amount of time thinking of ways to avoid people, places, and responsibilities.

But not today.

_Today, I am Gadern’s bride,_ Ella thought, striding confidently across Montsimmard’s intimidatingly large campus. Stylized historical figures glared down at her from marble faces, frozen in stoic gravity as they pointed various weapons at the sidewalk. _I am a huntress clad in deception,_ she reminded herself sternly as she passed beneath the rows of spears and swords. Not for the first time, Ella was relieved that she no longer had to walk past those damn statues _every day_.

She made a beeline for the history building, grateful for the number of times she’d delivered textbooks directly to campus. Ella knew herself pretty well, and she knew that this plan would have to be executed before there was any time to doubt herself. The doubt would turn to fear, and fear always led her back to that safe little office in the bookstore. Not today.

Vivienne’s office was notoriously easy to find, as it was the most grandiosely decorated, but after careful consideration, Ella bypassed it in favor of the directory board. Since Wolf was somehow connected to the history department, she thought it very possible that Viv knew him, or at least knew _of_ him, and she wasn’t quite ready for that conversation. Either Vivienne didn’t know his identity or was actively hiding it from the rest of her friends, and both options had their own unique hurdles.

Ella studied the old press-on lettering of the directory board, but couldn’t find anything that looked remotely like the name Wolf had given her. To be fair, though, it was quite a strange name. She wandered the halls, looking subtly into each occupied classroom, trying her best to appear as a confused student rather than some random pseudo-stalker. _He stalked me first,_ she thought bitterly, peering into yet another tiny door window.

_Anthropology 202, Dr. Solas Argall,_ the nameplate read, and it struck a chord in her memory. Yes! That was it! Ella checked her phone. _Eleven thirty-six. On a Wednesday_. She plastered herself against the wall next to the door - only fourteen minutes to wait until the class got out. Then she would confront him. She _would_.

Not even a minute later, her hands were shaking uncontrollably; when she crossed her arms and grabbed her elbows to still them, her right foot immediately started tapping out an anxious and erratic beat. Fourteen minutes was too long. Already she was eyeing the side stairs like they were her only hope for salvation, wishing for the comfortable certainty of her desk and her chair and the simple fulfillment of completing order forms-

_No._ Ella snapped up into a rigid posture, digging her nails into her forearms. _Decisiveness! Danger!_ She spurred herself on, turning to engage in a very intense staring contest with the classroom’s doorknob. _Gadern stands in the hall and waits,_ she thought firmly, opening the door with a numb but resolute hand, _but his bride takes action._

This classroom, luckily, was one of the old auditorium-style lecture halls in which Ellana had taken many, many classes; she experienced only a single hesitant breath of confusion before The Plan snapped back to her. The room wasn’t nearly as full as it should be - probably because of the proximity to winter break - and the students that _had_ shown up seemed exhausted and disinterested at best, anxious and despondent at worst. Ella thought it unlikely that any of them would notice as she slipped into the back row of the central column of seats, making direct and purposeful eye contact with Wolf as she did so.

He’d just turned from the whiteboard at the sound of the doors opening, smiling, perhaps in anticipation of reprimanding a late student, but all expression (and color) drained from his face when he locked eyes with Ella. She swallowed a grin, flattening her lips into a determined line as she plopped down into one of the folding chairs. Wolf stood frozen for a few heartbeats before recovering, but it was enough for her to know that she’d won the upper hand back from him.

The corners of his lips tugged faintly upward as he turned back around, and he leaned into the turn as if lunging into a dance - which, she supposed, this was. Ella watched intently as he wrote out more vocabulary definitions, watched the cautious grace in his stride as he moved from one end of the board to the other, making sure to keep his back to her at all times. She took the opportunity to inspect him more closely, this online presence who’d suddenly asserted himself in her _real_ life. Wolf the cautious but witty support mage; Wolf the accepting, non-judgmental friend; Wolf the playful and devious conversation partner. Ella thought that the loose-fitting gray cardigan hanging carelessly from his shoulders didn’t really fit the persona he’d cultivated in-game. In fact, of all of the mental images she’d built of him, _bald stalker professor_ was definitely never one of them.

When the faded analog clock above the whiteboard clicked over to 11:50 and the sparse population of students started shifting restlessly in their seats and looking to Wolf for direction, he dismissed them with a wave of his hand. Ella remained seated as they filtered out of the room, observing Wolf as he crossed back to his desk at the center of the hall and pressed both hands palms-down onto the cracked wood. They stared at each other through and around the stumbling foot traffic, Ella keeping her face carefully blank, Wolf with the faintest hint of amusement creasing his eyes and mouth.

She stood when the door swung shut behind the last student, sidestepping until she had reached the aisle closest to her. Wolf’s hands twitched on the desk, and Ella broke out into a smirk; he expected _her_ to come to _him_.

_Sorry, buddy. Not today._ She glanced to the door, taking a small step toward it, and Wolf’s confidence melted into a frown. He made to walk toward her, but she stopped him with a warning gesture; they stood immobile for several moments, and Ella was positive that he was formulating some extremely Wolf-like plot, but she wasn’t going to give him time to fully react. _Huntress_ , her mind sang, a strident reminder of her purpose, _clad in deception._

Ellana yanked open the door, squeezing herself through like a cat at the soonest possible moment. She met his gaze once more before disappearing into the hall, and the sight sent a thrilling jolt up her spine; he was halfway up the aisle already, mouth stretched into an excited grin, and his gray-blue eyes shone with what she could only call _fascination_. She almost forgot to run.

Almost.

She made it almost to the end of the hall before realizing that _this_ was where her plan ended. The corridor split into two opposite paths before her, and the decision point was very rapidly approaching; Ellana glanced over her shoulder, relieved that Wolf was still rather far behind her, and tried to recall the specific layout of the history building. It was then that she smacked directly into a very solid, very fragrant surface.

“Goodness, you’re in a hurry.” The last voice Ella wanted to hear spoke politely, wrapping gentle and bejeweled fingers around her shoulders to steady her. “Whatever is the matter, my dear?”


	7. Interlude (Prompts!)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So as an apology for immediately breaking my "update weekly" resolution, here is a sort of in-between chapter made of FADEonline prompts I've gotten on Tumblr. They mostly involve scenarios, relationships and dynamics outside the main focus of the story.
> 
> If you'd like to see more of these interlude chapters, please shoot me a prompt or two at gamordan-stormrider.tumblr.com! They're very fun to write! (however if you DON'T like this interlude chapter and don't want to see more like it, also tell me! I'll go with the majority)
> 
> (Sorry for not being able to update weekly. I'll get it as close as I can!)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've bumped the rating up to Mature for one of the prompts. If you dislike sexual (but non-explicit) situations, don't read #4!

**1\. How the gang found each other/ended up as a permanent group.**

The moment played out in slow motion, at least in Ellana’s mind. There she was, surrounded by rabid gamers, and  _somehow_ , as if by divine providence, the bright blue lanyard had caught her attention in the midst of the chaos. And no one else seemed to notice it! She dove immediately, without a second thought, grasping desperately at the pass, quite possibly the  _last_ available pass, to the long-awaited FADEcon.

One hand closed around the blank plastic.  _Yes, good, just get your name on it and you're in._ She dug through her pockets with her other hand, trying to conceal the neon blue lanyard from prying eyes.

"Excuse me, I believe I saw this first." A polite yet firm voice made her jump, and she nearly dropped the pass. A woman, couldn’t be much older, with stern, dark eyes and well-tamed black curls loomed over Ella’s crouching form, dainty hands closed around the other end of the lanyard.

Ella sneered, ready to fight, but mutual recognition simultaneously wiped both women’s faces. “J-Josephine?” Ella squeaked, rooted to the ground. This was the  _last_ place she expected to meet her boss; her very quiet,  _very_  conservative boss. 

"Ellana?" Josephine’s eyes widened, but only for a moment. Her shock was quickly replaced with her normal, cool expression, though Ella saw the blush creeping across her dark skin. "We will speak of this later. And  _this_ ,” Josie snatched the pass deftly out of her employee’s hands, stuffing it into her purse, “is mine.”

 

**2\. Ella and Leliana have a day to themselves.**

Ella slumped back onto the couch, wiping sweat from her forehead and putting a hand to her heart to make sure that she was, in fact, still alive. “You…you  _cheater_ ,” she rasped mock-angrily, unable to keep the mirth out of her voice. Every muscle in her body protested when she tried to sit up, so instead she let out a strained, defeated moan.

"Can’t cheat if there are no rules!" Leliana trilled victoriously, joining her friend on the couch. She smoothed her hair back into its customary place behind her ears, then reached across the coffee table to click off the Playstation 2. "Besides, it was more like  _hustling_ , if we’re being honest.”

Ella glared at the little black console.  _Oh, since we have the whole day off, let’s break out the PS2! We can play that old dancing game again!_ She thought back on that morning with a twisted grimace. Past Ella had no idea. She had  _no idea_. 

"Loser gets the wine," Leliana reminded her smugly, and Ella managed a feeble kick to the coffee table.

 

**3\. What's Solas thinking when he and Lavellan flirt in chat?**

It had started innocently enough, he supposed, leaning back in his computer chair until it creaked. Her latest message popped up in green whisper text:  _wolf you are literally the sweetest_. Solas chuckled, propping his elbows up on the arm rests and pushing the chair idly back and forth with one foot. 

At first, the concerned and supportive messages he’d sent her were born of curiosity. Inquisition was a newly-formed guild at the time, headed by a capable but largely unknown player. Why was this Inquisitor leading and not lionheart73, the master tactician who’d been the first to clear the Gallows? Or nightingale, a member of the legendary group that had been the  _only_  party able to defeat Urthemiel? And why had these high-profile players left their own guilds to follow Inquisitor?

Solas leaned back over his keyboard, smirking as he typed out:  _For getting you a staff? I should like to work harder for that title_. He had been so very close to quitting before Inquisition was formed. Ironically enough, the only reason he’d joined at all was at the behest of his  _treasured_ friend (and, coincidentally, boss), Vivienne. The little upstart guild needed help, she’d said, quite authoritatively, and we’re going to assist them,  _my dear_. Something about being friends with the leader. 

His messages to her had begun educationally. Surely one so new at leadership would need help, guidance. But no. His curiosity had morphed into admiration as the guild flourished in her hands, quickly claiming some of the fastest raid times in the history of the game. Cohesion, she said. Cooperation. He was sure it didn’t hurt that most of them knew each other outside the game.

Ah, but that was the sticking point, wasn’t it? Another whisper scrolled across the bottom of the chat box:  _yeah yeah :P try sweet talking the dragon to death_. A slight pang of guilt roiled in his stomach, and he flattened his hands against the dark wood of his desk. Sweet talking, indeed.

 _How old is Quiz?_ He’d asked Vivienne once, as innocuously as possible, but Dr. de Fer was as sharp as they come.  _I’m not taking you to meet her,_ had been her immediate reply, accompanied by the definitive  _clack_  of heels on tile,  _it would only make her uncomfortable._ Solas smiled at the memory; Vivienne was certainly unapologetic in her low opinion of him.  _Be content with this online dalliance,_ she’d commanded.

But maintaining this  _online dalliance_ was growing harder by the day, especially now that he had the (quite distracting, really) mental image of them all frolicking around FADEcon together, growing just as close in the real world as they were in the game, perhaps even closer-

 _Wolf, are you still here?_ Orange party text flashed into the chat box, and Solas snapped his hands back to the keyboard. No, he could not obey Vivienne in this. He deferred to her in many things out of career necessity, but this could not be one of them.  _She_  could not be. 

 _Of course I am here, Inquisitor,_  he typed out slowly, the beginnings of a plan blossoming in his mind.

 

**4\. [slightly nsfw] Accidental lap dance at a bar.**

"Oh my  _God_ , you’re  _drunk_ ,” Josephine slurred, jabbing an accusatory finger down the bar and reiterating with a bubbly giggle, “Ella. You’re  _drunk_.” 

"I am not!" Ellana shot back reflexively, leaning away from the prodding, but over-corrected and had to scrabble frantically at the bar top to avoid toppling off of her stool. "Maybe a little," she amended with a sheepish grin, earning another roaring laugh from Josie. Ella felt her ears go burning hot, determined not to turn around to see Wolf’s reaction to her antics. Thankfully, he seemed to be inclined toward a rare fit of not commenting on her fumbles.

Cal snorted into her beer mug but remained silent, keeping an ever-watchful eye on all of her friends in the case of  _real_  drunkenness, in which case the friend in question would be dutifully escorted home. Ella, with a somewhat cloudy thought process, wondered if that was a side effect of being a cop for so long, or if the stern woman had adopted a more maternal view of their group.

"Yeah, Bookworm, how many margaritas is that?" Varric raised his bushy eyebrows at the two empty glasses - and third half-full one - in front of Ella, elbowing her lightly in the ribs. "You feeling all right?"

Josephine made a loud grunt of disapproval from Varric’s other side, swiveling on her stool so she fully faced toward him and away from Cal, who watched her exaggerated movements with increasing concern. “She’s  _fine_ , old man, don’t be a buzzkill.”

Varric gaped at her like she’d stabbed him. “ _Old_? Wh- I’m not old!” He leaned in toward Ella, a little off-balance himself, and asked plaintively, “I’m not old, right?”

Ellana grinned widely, clapping the stocky man on the back. “‘Course not, buddy, you’re a regular spring chicken,  _oof_ -” the precarious dance she’d been performing with her equilibrium finally snapped with the drastic shift of her weight; she fell backward, a heavy tumble to the floor only halted by Wolf’s strong arms around her waist.

She looked up and squeaked with a high-pitched, embarrassed giggle, “Thanks!”

"Perhaps it’s time to take you home," Wolf suggested with a smirk, expertly ignoring Varric’s low whistle. He attempted to re-stabilize her on her stool, but Ella had formed other plans. She turned in his grasp and, with a quick and surprisingly dexterous hop, transferred herself from her stool to his lap. 

It was, admittedly, impulsive and unwise - and some small part of her mind was horrified by this behavior. However, it was being drowned out by a very loud, very obnoxious voice that was shouting at her to  _go for it_. 

"E-Ellana?" Wolf sputtered, at a loss for words for the first time since she’d met him. Her position forced him to lean his back against the edge of the bar top; somewhere to his left, a mug clattered to the floor in disbelief. She snaked her arms around his neck, grinding herself down against his hips, barking a smug laugh when he let out his breath in a slow hiss.

Wolf’s hands fluttered awkwardly at her sides as he tried to simultaneously support her and not appear indecent. Ella grinned, taking full advantage of his indecision by pressing her chest against his, glancing up at him with her inebriated self’s best attempt at a  _smolder_.

"Ellana!" Cal exclaimed, half-standing in her shock. 

Josephine grabbed Cal by the arm, stopping her from hauling Ella out of the bar. “No, no,  _shh,_ " Josie patted the black leather of Cal’s jacket, guiding her back into a sitting position, "they’re only having some fun,  _Detective_.”

Varric raised a new mug, chuckling, “Yeah, leave those crazy kids alone.”


	8. Impulsive employees, frustrated bosses

__

 

_Why did you follow?_ A question for which he had no answer, and indeed doubted that any passage of time would reveal one. Twice he could have disengaged, but twice he chose to pursue - chose, definitively - and now it was far too late to back out. Vivienne led them down the long hallway to her office, heels clacking imperiously against the tile, never looking back, and Solas felt strangely like one of the errant students he’d seen making this very same walk. Though, he must admit, these circumstances were  _very_  different.

He cut a subtle glance down at Ellana, whose presence at his side he’d been furiously trying to ignore, and nearly stumbled over his own feet when he found her staring up at him with those curious green eyes. She noticed, of course, and the grin she flashed him was nothing short of triumphant.  _I played your game_ , those fierce eyes asserted,  _and I won_.

If only she knew the extent of that victory, or of the game itself.

When their little trio reached the office, Vivienne ushered them inside, but Ellana remained standing in the hall, hands stuffed into the pockets of her jacket, the grin melted from her face. She took an uncertain step across the threshold but didn’t sit; instead she stood behind one of the chairs, drumming her fingers nervously on the back of it.

Solas watched her closely, mirroring her actions in a way he hoped would ease her stress. Her transformation from confident to self-conscious was certainly fascinating, if a bit confusing and more than a little disarming. Where was that smiling woman who had stormed his classroom, the clever red-haired invader bent on conquest?

“You don’t need to explain anything to me,” Ellana broke the silence timidly, still running the pads of her fingers nervously over the chair’s rough fabric. She was turned toward Vivienne but focused on a point just past her shoulder; a common avoidance technique.

Dr. de Fer settled into her office chair as if it were a throne. “No, darling, please allow me to apologize.” She folded her hands serenely on the dark wood desk before her, shooting Solas a glare that could have wilted and obliviated a lesser man. “This was  _not_  supposed to happen.”

He held his tongue, merely crossing his arms to show acknowledgement. She could posture until the sun was low in the sky, but both of them knew the origin of their secrecy, and he could claim none of the credit for it.

“ _What_  wasn’t?” Ellana’s voice took on an irritated edge that no one failed to notice. She gripped the back of the chair with fingers pale from anxiety, frustration plain in the creases at the edges of her eyes.

“This.” Vivienne replied flatly, gesturing to her two guests. “But it seems Dr. Argall has defied my wishes.”

“It seems he has.” Solas smirked, bringing a contemplative hand to his chin. Instead of engaging his boss’s thoroughly exhausting line of mistaken logic, he turned to Ellana. “And what does our Inquisitor think of this development?”

“What?” Ellana froze at the title, looking at him for only a fraction of a second before her cheeks stained red and she dropped her gaze to the floor. “Meeting you? What’s wrong with that?”

Solas cocked his head to the side, raising his eyebrows at Vivienne questioningly. _What indeed?_

Vivienne met his silent challenge evenly, regarding him with narrow, menacing eyes before addressing her friend. “It is a discussion I would rather have privately. Please call me later tonight, dear.”

Ellana looked back and forth between them suspiciously, obviously sensing some of the constant tension and distrust that plagued their interactions. “All right.” Solas could hear the conflict in her voice, see  the confusion dark in her eyes. She pivoted and made to exit the office, but hesitated, offering a quiet and nervous, “It was nice to meet you,” before scampering off down the hall.

Solas grinned at that, an expression he had no qualms about showing to his boss, and shifted his balance from one foot to the other. “I think that was meant for me.”

“Really.” Vivienne drawled monotonously, pulling a bundle of papers from one of the drawers of her desk. “Enjoy it while you can, Dr. Argall, and be grateful that this is not a fireable offense.”

“You think so very little of my words and intentions.” He waited for a response, and when none came, he added a bit too icily, “I mean her no harm.”

Vivienne didn’t look up as she slowly flipped through the pages, though her voice was low and dangerous when she finally replied, “We will see about that. Dismissed.”

 

 

Ella hurried through the history department like the building was on fire, trying desperately to regulate her breathing and heart rate.  _Sorry, gran,_  she thought dismally, ducking through the throngs of students mid-class change,  _the hunt failed spectacularly_.

She’d tried, really really tried, to keep her composure all the way through to the end, but Vivienne’s soft concern (probably the only  _normal_  reaction to her behavior all day, now that she thought about it) had broken that fragile confidence. Thrown it back in her face that it was a very insular and unwise game they were playing, she and Wolf. Leaving work suddenly, staying gone for far too long, offering no explanation whatsoever; Josephine would be appalled. And probably  _would_ be, when she inevitably heard this story. Secrets never lasted long among the members of Inquisition, especially when they concerned the perceived well being of the guild master.

Well.  _Some_  secrets lasted longer than others, she supposed. Ella was very interested to hear Vivienne’s reasoning for keeping a gag order on Wolf for so long. And his reasoning for breaking it.

_I simply wanted to meet you early_. The smugly delivered words played back again in her mind, and she groaned. Wolf did always have the infuriating capacity to be direct and vague at the same time.

“It was not my intention to cause you discomfort.” A calm voice sounded behind her, right as she was reaching for the door, and Ella glared down at the handle. Just a few more seconds and she would have been out the door, free to sprint for the bus stop. What small change in her pace, what tiny extra expenditure of energy could have saved her from this moment?

“Ellana?” Wolf prompted quietly when she didn’t answer, and she turned around slowly to face him. He stood, as she was sure he was aware, in a minimally threatening pose, an appropriate distance from her, shoulders angled away.

“I know.” Ella shook her head, smiling wryly, resigning herself to this interaction. She opened the door and motioned for him to follow. “Today has been silly, hasn’t it?”

“Yes,” he agreed readily, clasping his hands behind his back as he fell into step beside her, “we both behaved impulsively.” He looked down at her with those sharp gray-blue eyes, so full of fiery competition not even an hour prior, now unreadable. “Out of mutual excitement, I believe.”

Ellana nodded, since she was extremely doubtful that her voice would come out as anything but a squeak.

Wolf continued on, politely ignoring her predicament, “And as an apology for this morning, please allow me to drive you back to The Crossroads. It will be much faster than what passes for public transit in this city.”

“Uh, sure,” Ella focused on keeping her steps measured and regular as Wolf changed their course from the bus stop to the parking garage.  _Don’t be weird about this, Ella, it’s just a friendly gesture. Don’t be weird, don’t be weird._  But when she looked up to gauge his reaction and saw him smiling gently, the goofy grin she gave in response was definitely probably weird.


	9. The bra is the least of your worries

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mature content in this one, for those who wish to skip :) also happy Valentine's Day!

 

Ella squinted down at her phone, cursing her naive hope that Leliana  _wouldn’t_  follow through on a threat. She pictured the bra, such a cute little ivory push-up trimmed in red lace, at the bottom of the dumpster outside their apartment complex. A cautionary tale about not having a roommate who is also your boss, who also reacts very poorly to interrupted communication lines.

“Here we are.” Wolf’s voice jolted her back to reality, and she looked up to find him approaching a sleek blue-black sedan. Ella didn’t know a lot about cars, but she was pretty sure that three-spoked wheel logo meant Mercedes. And in early twenties bookstore manager speak it meant  _really fucking expensive car_. She crossed to the passenger side warily, trying to keep the open awe from showing on her face.

Wolf, in his usual manner, saw through it at once. “Is everything all right?” He asked, pressing a series of keychain buttons that unlocked the doors and then started the ignition. Ellana sighed internally and thought about all the times she and Leliana had to wrestle - actually tag-team wrestle - the back doors open on the Taurus.

 _Nothing’s wrong_ , she thought dismally,  _I’m just re-evaluating all my life choices_. “Nice car,” she said instead, climbing into the passenger seat while touching as few of the interior surfaces as possible. Leather. Of  _course_  it was all leather.

Wolf didn’t answer, but Ellana noticed the smirk he tried to hide by checking over his shoulder. She found herself staring too long at his profile and looked quickly down at her hands, asking as innocuously as she could, “So, are you ready for FADEcon?”

“Ah, yes,” he nodded, checking for oncoming traffic as they backed out of the parking spot, “I look forward to the new content announcements.”

“Right?” Ella leaned forward excitedly. “Plus, rumor is that Gil and Andy are going to be there. Maybe they’ll unveil the new stuff  _in person_.”

Wolf scoffed. “Is that so?”

“Everyone on the boards is saying so.” She shrugged, turning her palms face up. “I don’t know. It would be nice, though.” When she only received a disapproving hum in return, she added with a little laugh, “What? Not a fan of the mods?”

He looked as if he would speak but then hesitated, as if rethinking his initial response. “I’ve been playing FADE for a long time,” he said finally, with a small wave of his hand, “and it is hard to trust them after the merger.”

“Oh, right, that thing with TevTech.” Ella bobbed her head in understanding. “That was way before I started playing.”

Wolf smiled tightly; it was obvious that he felt the merger to be far more than just a  _thing_. “Yes, I had a feeling.” He was quiet as they stopped at a red light, tapping one long finger against the steering wheel in contemplation, then said suddenly, “I am sorry for surprising you this morning. It was foolish of me.”

“No uh, no worries,” she tapped her fingers against her thighs rapidly, “I’m sort of just as guilty, so.”

“I suppose that is true,” he admitted with a chuckle.

“But you’re different than I expected,” Ella mused, adding hurriedly when he glanced over to her, “not in a bad way or anything. Just quieter, I guess. I mean, everyone’s different outside the game.” She closed her eyes momentarily and considered bailing out of the car.  _Quiz could have pulled this off seamlessly._

Wolf angled his head away from her, visibly trying to conceal his amusement. “Things have always been easier for me there, yes.” After a few seconds of silence, he added thoughtfully, “Though I believe that is true for all of us.”

“Yeah.” Ella replied soberly, watching the familiar stretch of road that contained The Crossroads become more and more defined as they approached, then repeated, “Yeah.” She’d thought the car ride would be nothing but awkwardness, but she was actually dreading the end of it. When would she see him again? Would it be weird to ask for his phone number? She was still pondering when they pulled into the parking lot.

Instead of saying goodbye, however, Wolf simply shut off the car and then exited it. Ella did the same, albeit more slowly, tailing him at a brisk pace toward the front door. A hundred variations of the same question tumbled around in her mind, but what actually came out of her mouth was a bewildered, “What?”

“I’d like to see more of the store,” he explained, smiling faintly at her confused expression, “though I could come back another time.”

“No!” She protested loudly, then amended at a more normal volume, “I mean, it’s fine. It should be fine.” Ella peered through the glass front door, wildly nervous even though the “Closed For Lunch” sign hung visibly inside the display window. She entered carefully, wincing when the customer alert bell echoed throughout the store. Nobody came to the front, though, and she let out her breath in a relieved sigh. “Okay, we’re good.”

“Avoiding your co-workers,” Wolf observed with a grin as she led him through the lobby and the adjoining lounge, “smart, given the circumstances.”

Ellana laughed dryly, entering the maze of bookshelves and beckoning for him to follow. “Tell me about it. I’m going to get such an earful when they get back.” She paused at the intersection of four rooms, each a different size and slightly off level with each other. “Right or left? It’s a big loop so we’ll get back to the front either way.”

“Considering that I only saw the path to your office last time, any direction is fine.” Wolf answered casually, though their forced proximity in the cramped aisles had him frowning.  _I completely understand_ , Ella thought, maintaining a poker face. Halfway down the row their arms brushed together accidentally, and she almost climbed the nearest shelf to escape the heart palpitations.

The sudden tension stunned them both into uncomfortable silence for the rest of the tour; Ella opened her mouth several times to break it, but nothing seemed sufficient. _It’s okay, Ella. Ask for his phone number. Adults do this all the time. It’s completely normal._  Finally, when they’d almost reached the lounge, she rounded on him with as much confidence as she could gather-

And instead of striking a self-assured pose, she smacked straight into his chest and sent them both crashing against a bookshelf. Ella threw her arms out instinctively, bracing against the wood, but Wolf wasn’t so lucky; his back hit the shelf so loudly that even Ella winced.

“S-Sorry!” She stammered, trying to step away but getting their legs entangled in the process.  _Oh God. You’ve ruined everything._  “Are you okay?”

“Ellana,” he said calmly, trying to catch her hands as they fluttered around his back and shoulders uncertainly, and then, “ _Ellana_ ,” again, more firmly, when she began sputtering apologies, and this time she quieted. “I am fine. It was a simple mistake.” He reassured her, taking her by the shoulders and setting her upright as if she were a fallen doll.

But she didn’t  _feel_  reassured, especially when he failed to remove his hands from her shoulders. Especially when  _she_  was suddenly the one with her back to the bookshelf. Especially when he leaned in and she rose to meet him, pressing their lips together eagerly.

He wrapped one arm around her waist and grabbed the shelf with the other, pulling their bodies closer and digging his fingers into the wood. Ellana melted into him with an enthusiasm that both exhilarated and alarmed her, but in their current situation she just couldn’t bring herself to care. It was only when she moaned into his mouth that her senses returned, shocked back into her with the full force of their behavior. They pulled apart simultaneously, both muttering half-formed excuses with husky voices, each averting dark lustful eyes from the other.

“I, uh,” Ella started, inadvertently raising two fingers to her lips, then quickly lowering them, “you should probably-”

“Go, yes,” Wolf finished swiftly, backing away from her and across the lounge. Before ducking out the front door, he added an almost sheepish, “Goodbye.”

Ellana didn’t move for what felt like an eternity. She focused on her breathing, on normalizing her wildly out of control heart rate and calming the blood that pounded in her face and ears. What was that? What  _was_  that? She barely heard the three quick taps on the display window, looking up in time to see a pair of wide green eyes and a sly grin on the other side. Sera wiggled her eyebrows suggestively, pantomiming the kiss with exaggerated arm and mouth movements that made Ella groan.

 _Oh, no_. She’d get an earful, indeed. 


	10. Just your average raiding night

**[Inquisitor] has logged in**

[bloodforged] says: Yes, but I’ll respec into Winter if they release another dragon.

[lionheart73] says: you think theyd release four dragons in a row with no dungeons?

[officialvarrictethras] says: Bookworm! Late to your own raid night. Tsk tsk.

[Calogera] says: GM online

[bloodforged] says: I think that Tev will release anything they damn well please, regardless of the players’ wishes.

[bloodforged] says: So yes, another dragon.

[fiddle-flumper] says: HEY QUIZ DID U HAVE A GOOD DAY

_[Calogera] whispers: should I start the dungeon, or would you prefer to do it?_

[scribblemancer] says: I miss story-driven dungeons. Remember when the Temples first came out?

[fiddle-flumper] says: BECAUSE I DID

[dreadwolf] says: Ah, those were the days :)

**[Inquisitor] has logged out**

 

“Did you crash?” Leliana’s worried voice drifted in from across the hall. Ella smashed down the power button on her laptop just in time to see her roommate peek around the doorframe. “Oh. Restart?”

“Yeah,” Ella replied as evenly as possible, hoping that the bloodless chill in her extremities hadn’t spread to her face. “Damn updates never give me enough warning.” She giggled but it came out strained, too high-pitched; she cleared her throat and busied herself with re-launching the game.

Leliana tapped a finger against the wall. “Okay,” she relented after a few moments of scrutiny, then returned to her room. “I’ll tell the others.”

Ellana let out a breath she didn’t know she’d been holding.  _Leliana’s perception strikes again._ Her roommate always picked up on behavioral inconsistencies, and was on especially high alert after Ella’s (yet unexplained) vanishing act during lunch. Sera, though sworn to secrecy, joked and jabbed for the rest of the work day, and  _that_ only made things worse. Ella was sure that her own jumpy paranoia didn’t help, either.

She typed in her password one key at a time, prolonging the inevitable. Wolf was in there, ready for the raid. Did that mean he wanted to pretend like nothing happened? Perhaps he didn’t want her to feel awkward. Or maybe he was feigning normalcy for the sake of the guild.

_Ella, calm down,_  she chided herself mentally,  _he probably just knows that game chat isn’t really the place to discuss impromptu makeouts._

She sighed and pressed “Enter.”

 

**[Inquisitor] has logged in**

[Calogera] says: Crash?

[lionheart73] says: did your game crash?

[Inquisitor] says: computer restarted, sorry :( everyone ready?

[bloodforged] says: Ready

[The_Iron_Bull] says: Yes!! I’m so ready for some action

[Calogera] says: Lady and Blackwall will not be joining us

[Calogera] says: Also, I am ready

[lionheart73] says: ready

[fiddle-flumper] says: quiz has seen enough action today eyyyyy

[nightingale] says: I’m ready!

_To [fiddle-flumper]: Quit it, you_

[scribblemancer] says: Blade is attending evening class, as well.

[dreadwolf] says: Ready

[bloodforged] says: Nine all together? Our time won’t be nearly fast enough.

[The_Iron_Bull] says: Nahhh it’ll be fine :D

[officialvarrictethras] says: Have faith, Sparkler!

[officialvarrictethras] says: Ready when you are.

 

“Do you and Sera have a new inside joke or something?” Leliana called again, though thankfully she didn’t get up this time. “She’s acting more strangely than usual.”

Ellana froze at her keyboard. “Yeah, it’s this whole. Thing,” she replied, then added when her phone started ringing, “I’m getting a call! Starting the raid.” Leliana’s protests were muffled by the bedroom door as Ella pushed it shut with her foot.

Her relief evaporated when she saw the name flashing on the screen:  _Vivienne de Fer_. “Hello?” She asked cautiously.

“Good evening, Ellana.” Viv greeted her smoothly, and though her voice carried no hint of danger, Ella had learned long ago that Vivienne’s tone didn’t necessarily match her mood. “I would like to discuss what happened earlier.”

“I can’t really talk right now,” Ella explained, hoping the excuse would be sufficient, “we just started a raid.” Of course, she’d run this dungeon so many times that she could traverse it with her eyes closed, but nobody needed to know that.

Vivienne hummed, a low sound that perfectly conveyed her displeasure. “Very well. I will not keep you long.” Ella heard the shuffling of papers in the background. “I simply wanted to convey my suspicions about Dr. Argall before the two of you became more...intimate.”

_Oh, you have no idea._  “Suspicions?” Ella laughed, watching Wolf’s avatar freeze a group of mobs. “You sound like he killed someone.”

Vivienne didn’t speak for a few seconds, then disclosed softly, “He has worked for me for four years and I know absolutely nothing about him, save for what was written on his resume.” More papers shuffled around. “I cannot say exactly what bothers me about him, only that I am bothered. Before you dismiss me, my dear, know that my instincts are  _never_  wrong.”

Ella opened her mouth for a skeptical response, but then thought better of it. Viv’s counsel was genuinely given and shouldn’t be mocked, even if Ella didn’t believe her. “All right. I don’t really understand, but I’ll be careful.” She offered with a sigh, stretching her fingers on the keyboard to hit all of her skill buttons with one hand. “I really have to go now, though.”

“Indeed. Goodnight, darling.” The line went quiet, and Ella set her phone back on the desk. As far as she was concerned, this had been the longest day of her life; weird stalking, weirder kissing, and then extremely cryptic advice on the matter.

_Of course my first crush since high school ends up being insufferably mysterious._ Surely Vivienne was mistaken, though. Surely Wolf was just a private person.

_Right?_

 

**[Inquisition] has successfully completed [Chateau D’Onterre]**

[The_Iron_Bull] says: Time??? >:D

[nightingale] says: one sec

[lionheart73] says: That was a good run

[nightingale] says: 23:11

[nightingale] says: 3rd place

[The_Iron_Bull] says: Damn, not enough to beat our record

[Inquisitor] says: WOO!! Congrats everyone!

[scribblemancer] says: But we’ve pushed Champions out of 3rd. That’s something

[lionheart73] says: ok, I have to go. long day tomorrow

[Calogera] says: Something horrible. how long until their fans start complaining?

[bloodforged] says: Since you’re already complaining, I’d say not long.

[scribblemancer] says: goodnight lion!

[Inquisitor] says: night lion :)

[officialvarrictethras] says: Hey, now. Hawke can keep her people in line.

**[lionheart73] has logged out**

[scribblemancer] says: I’d rather wait for Lady, Blackwall, and Blade before splitting up loot.

[dreadwolf] says: All right, dropping rare items into guild storage

[scribblemancer] says: Before everyone leaves, though: any preferences?

**[fiddle-flumper] has logged out**

[scribblemancer] says: -_-

[officialvarrictethras] says: All good on gear here.

[bloodforged] says: Same here. The new staves look like repurposed curtain rods.

[The_Iron_Bull] says: could use some new boots, if any dropped

[dreadwolf] says: I quite like the level 70 staff design :<

[Inquisitor] says: I’m good on gear too. night everyone!

[bloodforged] says: You would.

[officialvarrictethras] says: Sleep tight, Bookworm.

[scribblemancer] says: All right, boots for Bull. Anyone else?

[Calogera] says: Goodnight quiz

_To [dreadwolf]: 555-0141_

**[Inquisitor] has logged out**


	11. One step forward, two steps back

 

“I see.” Leliana crossed her arms on the checkout counter and rested her chin on them. “And that’s why you were gone for so long yesterday?”

Ellana squirmed on the other side of the register as she thumbed through new order forms. “Yes,” she admitted, unwilling to meet her roommate’s gaze, “he drove me back here afterward.”

“You  _got in a car_  with this man?” Cal scoffed incredulously from Josephine’s office, but Leliana quieted her with a stern look.

“Wolf has been with us since the beginning.” Josie placed a stabilizing hand on Cal’s arm before returning it to her keyboard. “If Ella trusts him, I see no reason why we shouldn’t.”

Cal shook her head, but didn’t pursue the topic. “My lunch hour is over,” she grunted, grabbing her jacket from its hook and nodding toward the checkout counter, “Call me if that trust ever comes into question.”

Leliana chuckled as the front door banged shut. “Relationship advice from Cassandra. Who would have known?” An exasperated moan emanated from Josie’s office. “Sorry about the bra.”

“Sorry for disappearing.” Ella shrugged and closed the form drawer. “Anyway, I won’t do it again.”  _It won’t happen again_. She shook her head to dislodge the memory.

Leliana studied Ella’s face for a few silent moments. “No more romantic stalk dates with the professor?”

“Nope.”

“Why not?”

“Can we talk about this later?” Ellana gestured to the stack of orders. “I have to catch up.”

Leliana rolled her head to the side, looking up sideways at her roommate through a thin veil of red hair. “Sure. But _later_ , I want the whole story. I worry, you know.”

“I know,” Ella acknowledged, flashing a small smile before disappearing into the aisle labyrinth. It was unfair of her to keep Leliana in the dark, but Ella still wasn’t over the shock of those texts from Wolf. Apparently to him, “let’s talk about this,” meant sudden and firm rejection. But maybe that wasn’t a bad thing, necessarily; she certainly didn’t feel ready for any kind of romantic involvement, especially not after making a clumsy spectacle of her first attempt to flirt with Wolf outside the game.

Yes, she should just be happy that another member of the guild lived so close, and had made himself known. At least their group of friends could increase. That was always a good thing.

_Just who are you trying to fool here, Ella?_

She plopped into her office chair heavily, full of regret and indecision. What if she’d pushed the subject instead of passively agreeing? Would he have budged or withdrawn further?

Considering her state of distraction, Ella nearly jumped out of her skin when a large white box slammed down onto the desk in front of her. It took a few frantic heartbeats to realize that it was just donuts - and not a bomb, or a piece of the ceiling, or a bloodthirsty box-shaped monster, or any of the other numerous and increasingly ridiculous alternatives her mind had conjured up.

Less surprising was the girl behind the box, face twisted up into an almost perverse grin. “Well, hello there, miss bosspants,” Sera began, bowing dramatically at the waist, “I brought you some lunch, yeah? Thought you might need it after your little  _show_ , yeah?”

Ella sank down, fervently wishing she had the ability to disappear altogether. “Well, thanks,” she managed to squeak out, gripping the arms of her chair in white-knuckled anticipation. Maybe this was just a strange food offering and nothing more. Maybe this wouldn’t progress into one of Sera’s oddly effective rant punishments.

No such luck.

Sera stomped a booted foot on the old wood floor, sending dull echoes down the hallway. “Look, this is how many donuts are between you nerds,” she gestured to the box with both arms, pointing specifically to the two extras, “Fourteen. That is too many donuts.”

Ellana inhaled slowly, looking back and forth between Sera and the box before cautiously venturing, “Did you mean to say, ‘years?’”

“ _No_. No,” Sera asserted, quite venomously, bringing one palm down hard on Ella’s desk and then wincing in pain, “don’t tell me what I meant. You know. It’s weird, El, it’s real weird.” She stared hard at the donuts, narrowing her eyes as if this had all sounded much better in her head. Sera was never one for well-laid plans.

Ella allowed her friend a few minutes to reassemble herself, then tapped the plastic lid of the donut box. “Did you really buy fourteen donuts just to tell me I’m too young for Wolf?”

“Hey, hey, hey,” Sera, fully recovered, held up both hands and wiggled her fingers, “you’re not too  _young_  for  _him_ ; he’s too _old_  for  _you_. It’s creepy! Right?”

“I don’t particularly think so, no.” Ella straightened herself in her chair, reasonably certain that the stormiest part of her employee’s tirade was over. She added with a lopsided smirk, “Besides, I don’t believe my love life is any of your business.”

“Oh, it is. When you’re snogging and carrying on in the bloody store, it is definitely my business.” Sera jabbed an accusing finger at Ella’s chest. “He’s got you. He has  _got_  you.”

Ella slid the order forms into a file folder, then calmly replaced it inside her desk. “He hasn’t gotten anything, Sera, don’t worry.”

“What? Really?” Sera grabbed one of the donuts, tore it in half, and stuffed one of the pieces into her mouth, asking around it, “Nothing happened after that  _display_?”

“No, nothing happened.” Ella tried to keep the bitterness out of her voice but failed. Sera raised her eyebrows. “Look, it’s not important. He wants to be friends.”

“Yeah, friends don’t eat face like that.” Sera licked the glaze off her fingers. “What an arse biscuit though.” She leaned her hip against the desk, adding more quietly, “Want to talk about it?”

Ellana snorted and pulled the box into her workspace. “About  _what_? This romantic tragedy of a week? No. Wait,” realization hit her mid-reach for a donut, and she looked up sharply, “how did you know how old he is? I didn’t even know that.”

Sera grinned and patted the outline of her phone in the pocket of her jeans. “You’re not my first donut stop, Quiz.”

“Vivienne,” Ella groaned, running both hands back through her hair. Underestimating the reach of Viv’s disapproval was almost as dangerous as underestimating Leliana’s commitment to a threat. “I can’t believe she’s already gossiping about us.”

“ _Us_ ,” Sera mimicked her boss’s voice, dancing out of the way of a chiding slap. “All right, all right. So the old fart wants to be friends. That’s something, yeah?”

The old chair creaked as Ella leaned back to stare up at the ceiling. “Yes. No. I don’t know what I want out of this. Also, why do you care?” She tilted her head to the side. “You hate Wolf.”

“Yeah, but this is the first time I've seen you so rattled in, like,  _ever_.” Sera stole a glance across the hallway to make sure Leliana’s office door was closed, then continued, “Plus, Scribbles is taking her sweet time putting the moves on Cal, so I might as well start betting on you.”

Ella swiveled to face her friend, equal parts amused and disturbed to have gained such a zealous supporter. “You might be waiting a while,” she advised.

“Nah. I already invited him to game night.”

“You  _what_?” Ella lunged forward out of the chair, but Sera hopped nimbly out of her reach. “Why? How?”

_Vivienne_ , Ella thought darkly. “Vivienne,” Sera chirped, leaving Ella with nothing but the echoes of her giggles as she sprinted back to the register.


	12. Honestly the mystic elevator can go to hell

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this one took so long! It's about twice as long as a regular chapter, though. (Also, the Betrayal game scenario in question doesn't actually exist.)

**[Inquisitor] has logged in**

[fiddle-flumper] says: what if for april fools they just replace all the [ ] with { }

[lionheart73] says: What? How is that funny?

[Calogera] says: GM online

[Inquisitor] says: morning everyone!

[fiddle-flumper] says: no, no, its not the change thats funny. prim proper types will get all up in a tizzy over it. THEN its funny

[bloodforged] says: I don’t understand your obsession with making other people uncomfortable.

[fiddle-flumper] says: {bloodforged} says:

[lionheart73] says: good morning, quiz

[fiddle-flumper] says: morning quiz!

[Lady-of-the-Ice] says: Anything would be funnier than what they did last year.

[The_Iron_Bull] says: Hey, those purple nugs were cute

[fiddle-flumper] says: yeah they were

[Lady-of-the-Ice] says: And immersion breaking.

[Inquisitor] says: I’m more excited for the Christmas event

[Inquisitor] says: crossed fingers for tier 5 crafting...

[fiddle-flumper] says: OOOOH yess

[bloodforged] says: Yes, we’ll need the gear for whatever overpowered dragon they release next.

[flamerage] says: you mean the christmas nerf fest

**[lionheart73] has logged out**

[dreadwolf] says: Good morning, inquisitor! :) sorry, I was afk

[dreadwolf] says: Flame, I don’t believe they will be nerfing anything this year

_[scribblemancer] whispers: There were a few typos in the guild message last night, but I fixed them._

[flamerage] says: they’re cutting burn duration on fire mine

[fiddle-flumper] says: because it’s a bug, you flappy arse pasta

_To [scribblemancer]: Oh god, sorry! I’ve been a little out of it this week_

[dreadwolf] says: Its burn duration is currently 50 seconds instead of the intended 5

[Lady-of-the-Ice] says: As useful as it is, I’d rather not use exploits.

[endless_skies] says: ofc you don’t want it nerfed flame, that’s the only way you can beat the kaltenzahn

[bloodforged] says: Here we go.

_[scribblemancer] whispers: Same reason that Thrillers D-F were replaced backwards?_

[Inquisitor] says: Guys, don’t start, seriously

[dreadwolf] says: I’m sure new spells will be part of the content update, flame.

_To [scribblemancer]: ARE YOU SERIOUS_

[The_Iron_Bull] says: At least you mages GET regular skill updates >:(

[Inquisitor] says: Oh, boo hoo

[Inquisitor] says: i’m Bull, i have four main skills and my biggest concern is shield bash

[dreadwolf] says: Come back when you have to constantly manage mana and barrier

[Inquisitor] says: ikr

[The_Iron_Bull] says: Ouch you guys

_[scribblemancer] whispers: I don’t want to patronize you, Ella, but this thing you have going on with Wolf - you can’t treat it like an extension of the game. It’s real, and it’s really getting to you._

[Lady-of-the-Ice] says: They’re not wrong.

[fiddle-flumper] says: ooooooh get rekd

_To [scribblemancer]: I know. i’m working on it. Thanks :)_

[Inquisitor] says: Oh, before I forget:

[Inquisitor] says: night will be the raid leader later, if anyone has venue/gear questions

[endless_skies] says: oh sweet, that means flooded caves

[The_Iron_Bull] says: Yay, flooded caves!

[nightingale] says: I don’t always do caves…

[fiddle-flumper] says: you really do babe

**[Server] [Ghilan’nain] has logged in**

**[Server] [Andruil] has logged in**

[fiddle-flumper] says: ANDYYY MY LUV

**[dreadwolf] has logged out**

**[Server]**  [Ghilan’nain] says: Hello FADEonline players! Is everyone ready for the con??

[The_Iron_Bull] says: YES

[Calogera] says: They can’t hear you

 **[Server]**  [Andruil] says: As you’ve no doubt heard already, we will be releasing new content during the con. There’s a rumor going around that Gil and I will be attending…

[fiddle-flumper] says: HYPE HYPE HYPE HYPE

 **[Server]**  [Ghilan’nain] says: ...And we’re here today to confirm that rumor! :)

[Lady-of-the-Ice] says: Oh, good, the lines will be even longer now.

 **[Server]**  [Andruil] says: We hope to see you there. Ten days!

**[Server] [Andruil] has logged out**

**[Server] [Ghilan’nain] has logged out**

[scribblemancer] says: I think this is cause for changing our panel schedule. We should make time to arrive extremely early to the content reveal.

[Inquisitor] says: Definitely

[fiddle-flumper] says: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

[bloodforged] says: Fids, you know that Andy and Gil are married, right?

[fiddle-flumper] says: IT MIGHT BE AN OPEN MARRIAGE

[The_Iron_Bull] says: Never give up on your dreams, fids

[Inquisitor] says: All right, i gotta go get ready for work. See you later guys :)

[fiddle-flumper] says: hey, where’d wolf go? dude owes me money

**[Inquisitor] has logged out**

* * *

 

Ella dragged another chair over to the lounge table, fighting the ever-present itch to check her phone.  _It’s just game night_ , she reminded herself. Nothing serious. It happened every Friday and this one would be no different from the others. Her phone vibrated in her pocket; the short pulse of a new message.

 _No different from the others_ , she thought again, re-positioning the chair.

“You have a text,” Cole pointed out in passing, then spread a plain white cloth over the table. After a few seconds of silence, he looked up from his task. “You’re not going to answer it?”

She shook her head, dismissing the question with a wave of her hand. “It’s probably nothing.” She watched his thin fingers smooth the cloth over all the corners, so attentive to even the smallest of imperfections. “Thanks for helping us set up even though you can’t stay.”

“I wish I could stay,” he replied with such earnest veracity that Ella had to pause her chair alignment. “But if I spend a lot of time at home, they might let me go to the con.”

Ella knew that “they” referred to Cole’s strict and overprotective parents. He never called them by name or title; only  _they_. “I hope they do,” she said quietly. It disturbed her how little freedom he had outside of work and school.

“You really don’t want to check that?” Cole looked pointedly to her vibrating phone. “It might be important.”

“It’s not.” Ella asserted, straightening her back and brushing off her hands. She surveyed the lounge and nodded. “Well, we’re done.”

“Oh good, you’re done.” Josephine said around a mouthful of plastic grocery bag, pushing the front door the rest of the way open with her foot. Cal came after her and hefted a large cooler onto the checkout counter. “Can you believe Dagna’s closed early? On a Friday!” Josie huffed, depositing the bag in her teeth, and the numerous ones on her arms, next to the cooler. “We had to go all the way out to Wal-Mart. I hadn’t been there in  _ages_.”

“It was horrible.” Cal confirmed flatly, and Ella honestly couldn’t tell if she was being sarcastic. They set about unpacking the snack and drinks, conversing in agitated Spanish. Ella heard “Wal-Mart” more than once.

Cole stuffed his hands in his pockets, staring outside at the rapidly darkening sky. “I should go,” he muttered, more to himself than to his coworkers.

“Yeah. Have a good weekend!” Ella said, giving him an encouraging pat on the shoulder. He slunk out the door with a sigh, squinting against the setting sun. Returning to the city streets like a stray cat.

“Where’s Cole?” Josephine asked when she turned around, platter of crackers in hand. “I wanted him to take some of these home. Ah,” she clicked her tongue in disapproval when Ella nodded to the still-open door. “He’s like a ghost.”

“Who? Weirdo? What else is new.” Sera emerged from the bookshelf labyrinth and slammed a box down onto the lounge-turned-game table. “Look what I found tucked away in the rec room!”

Ella sighed inwardly, berating Past Ella for not picking a better hiding spot. Two feet of old invoices had seemed so safe at the time. “Sera, we’re trying to  _build_  friendships tonight, not destroy them.”

“ _Oh_ , no, no, no,” Josephine scurried across the lounge and picked up the game box, hugging it to her stomach, “we are  _not_  playing Betrayal!”

“Why not? It weeds out the weak ones. Do you want a weak friend?” Sera’s fingers scrabbled against the box, but Josie’s iron grip held strong.

“She raises a good point.” Cal said with a smirk partially hidden behind one leather glove. “It will be politics, Josephine; you’ll love it.”

Ella pinched the bridge of her nose. “Sera’s just going to be the traitor again, absolutely demolish us, and then gloat about it for weeks.”

Further discussion was cut short when the front door bell chimed; on practiced cue, all of the bookstore employees snapped their attention to the door, plastering on smiles. Cal stifled a laugh.

“I still don’t see why you had to park so far away,” Wolf’s irritated voice wafted into the lounge and Ella braced for figurative impact.

“Perhaps I did it purposefully to annoy you,” Vivienne called over her shoulder, gliding past the door and letting it swing shut on her companion. Once across the threshold, she added in much warmer tones, “Good evening, dears.”

Wolf struggled with the door but eventually made it inside, and Ella cleared her throat. “Guys, this is Wolf,” she announced, then pointed out each of her friends to him in turn, “Wolf, this is Cal, Scribbles, and Fids.”

“Hey there.” Sera grinned slyly and cut a glance at her coworkers. “Get comfortable; we’re playing Betrayal tonight!”

Vivienne chortled as she hung her coat by the door. “Oh, wonderful. I can’t  _wait_  for you to stomp us into the dirt.”

Josephine pursed her lips in impotent rage, too caught up in her role as hostess to challenge a set decision. She lowered the box to the table reluctantly, glaring at Sera the whole time.

“Thank you for inviting me, Ellana,” Wolf said, sliding in next to her as she grabbed a tray of drinks for relocation, “I was worried that I’d upset you.”

Ella coughed to hide her surprise, but quickly recovered. So  _this_  was how Vivienne wanted to play, huh? “No problem.” She hoped that her voice sounded as smooth to others as it did in her head. “It’s always great for the guild to get together.” Josephine’s advice echoed in her thoughts;  _this isn’t the game and your actions carry weight._

“Indeed,” Wolf agreed with a nod. “This is quite the lively bunch.”

“Oh, just you wait.” Ella looked over to where Sera and Josie were still carrying on a silent war waged entirely through eye contact. “Just you wait,” she repeated flatly, setting the tray down on the game table.

 

  


 

Ella snapped her phone shut as the last people settled into their seats. She didn’t fail to notice that Vivienne and Cal had quickly planted themselves to either side of her. “Everyone’s played this before, right?” She laid out the character cards, careful not to immediately choose her favorite. There wasn’t a particular reason  _not_  to, she realized later; her restraint was probably just another symptom of hyper-awareness.

“I haven’t,” Wolf replied, picking up one of the cards and turning it over. “How significant are these stats?”

Sera giggled and swiped the character out of his hand. “First of all, that’s mine.” She attached the plastic stat trackers lovingly to each side of it, then set it down in front of her. “Right, so we’re building this house and then exploring it to find the haunted bits - err,  _we’re_  building and  _they’re_  exploring. It’d be weird if our guys were building the house, yeah?”

Wolf, who’d regarded her intently for the first part of the explanation, turned toward the rest of the table in a silent plea for clarification.

“Ah, the stats on your character card will be used for almost everything.” Josephine offered, unpacking the rest of the game box and describing the rules associated with every piece along the way. “Basically, we are revealing rooms until a specific set of actions are triggered. It will be easier to explain as we play,” she finished, handing him her own favorite character card in what Ella assumed was a diplomatic gesture.

“Ah, excellent,” Wolf placed his character in the entryway with the others, next to Ella’s.  _That was probably a coincidence._

The first few turns progressed normally - so normally, in fact, that Ella was immediately suspicious. No negative events, no dramatic relocations; what were these cards playing at? There needed to be game tension to break the real tension. Josie was barely holding her composure together despite Cal’s best subtle attempts to soothe her, and Sera had been wrinkling her nose at Wolf since they sat down. Ella hoped that whatever question was burning inside that tiny nose would stay there indefinitely, but again, like many things in her recent memory: no such luck.    

Sera broke around turn seven, exhaling loudly. She steepled her fingers and pointed them in Wolf’s direction. “Look, I’ve got to say something, and I don’t mean to be rude,”  _yes, you do_ , Ella thought, “but I really didn’t think you were going to be a  _professor_.”

“ _Adjunct_  professor,” Vivienne drawled, taking a small sip of her wine.

Wolf ignored the comment, an act with which both of them seemed familiar and proficient, “What did you think I would be, then?”

“I don’t know; like, a garbage man. Or a lawyer.”

“Banker,” Cal interjected.

Ella nearly choked on her water, but Wolf only laughed. “I would love to make as much as a garbage collector.”

“Yeah?” Sera leaned forward, and Ella realized too late that she was honing in for the kill. “Then how’d you afford that fancy car I saw, huh?”

“ _Sera!_ ” Josephine gasped, horrified.

“I used to be an entrepreneur.” Wolf explained calmly. “However, it is often a bad idea to go into business with one’s friends. Ah,” he held up an omen card, “how do these work again?”

Ella seized the opportunity to hand him six dice. “Roll these. If you roll below the number of omens already out, the haunt begins. That’s unlikely, though, since there’s only been-” she paused at the uncanny number of blank dice he’d rolled; four, to be exact. The last two, of course, showed only one pip each. “Three,” she finished lamely, closing her eyes against Sera’s ecstatic whoop.

“At least someone  _else_  will be the traitor this time.” Cal opened the rulebook to consult the haunt chart, and quirked one sculpted black eyebrow. “Hmm, never mind. The person to the right of the haunt revealer.” Josie let her character card fall to the table with a cardboard slap; Ella had never seen her boss look so dead inside.

Sera snatched the Traitor’s Tome out of the box faster than Ella could groan, then sprinted toward the back of the store, yelling, “Text me when you’re ready, nerds!”

Cal skimmed the haunt scenario. “This will be difficult. We must take an item from her and then destroy it.” She glanced to the rooms already in play. “She already has the advantage of the observatory, but she’ll have to make it out of the basement first.”

“I’ve got the revolver. Can we kill her?” Vivienne asked, surveying all of the characters’ current positions.

Josie leaned over Cal’s shoulder to read the scenario. “No, she’ll just respawn in the graveyard. It would help her.”

“One of us has to make it to the observatory before her, and have the stats to fight her for the book.” Cal narrowed her eyes. “Ellana, you have the highest speed and a decent might. Let’s hope you draw a way up.”

Wolf shuffled through his item cards. “I have the crystal ball, if that will help us.”

“Oh, yes, it will! Try to give her useless items and bad events.” Josie perked up at their growing odds of success.

“All right. How long could it take us to find a way out?” Ella asked optimistically, gesturing to the stack of basement room cards. “It’s five against one and she has no minions.”

 

  


 

“I can’t believe she trapped us in the basement and then  _destroyed_  it.” Ella ran both hands back through her hair, staring at the game board incredulously.

Cal looked down at her watch. “I can’t believe I’m going to be home before eleven on a game night.”

“Well, that was enjoyable.” Wolf chuckled and detached the stat trackers from his character card. “Though it seems preferable to be the traitor in this game.”

Vivienne pulled on her sleek white coat. “It is.”

“You should come by again,” Ella suggested tentatively. “I mean, just to hang out. If you don’t have classes.”  _Nailed it_. Cal snorted into her coffee.

Wolf smiled and brushed his hand over Ella’s shoulder, barely making contact with her sleeve, almost hesitant. “I’ll do that, then. But no more of this game, please.”

“Aw, so you guys don’t want to play again?” Sera asked mid-victory lap, and was met with a resounding and unanimous “no.”


	13. It was a really important deal

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trespasser awoke my drive to finish this fic. From now on I'll be doing big chapters like this, but the update schedule won't be regular. Hello again!

****** **

Of course it couldn’t have been a simple checkup. Ella pocketed her phone for the fourth time without replying, trying to wipe the anger off her face. Every year her mother tried to get the family back together, but Ella couldn’t bring herself to face the people who had driven her away with their condescension. They’d talked as if she was ruining the rest of her life, when all she’d done was deviate from their ivy league expectations. Well, they never bothered to make contact until it was convenient, so maybe it wouldn’t be _convenient_ for her to answer the message for a few days, either.

Ella inhaled deeply, letting the crisp inky scent of the New Releases section wash over her. At the front counter, Sera and Cole bickered quietly about the placement of the registers in between customer checkouts, each perky “Have a nice day!” trailing right back into their argument. Beyond the shelf labyrinth, Ella heard the unmistakable purring tone of Business Leliana negotiating new sales contracts, punctuated by sharp giggles.

Yes, this was her place, and ghosts from the past couldn’t taint it.

She hovered in the aisle, reluctant to return to her office. All that awaited her there were orders to fill and invoices to sort, when just on the other side of this shelf was something _far_ more interesting. She tipped one of the books up ever so slightly and peered through the hole it left, grinning to find Wolf there again, in the same chair, now halfway through that book from yesterday. _No classes on the weekends_ , he’d said. Good for him, but bad for Ella’s productivity. She ran her fingers over the spines of the books she’d just shelved, making sure they were in the right order. No more slip-ups.

“Done with New Releases already?” Josie asked in an infuriatingly chipper I’ve-caught-you-red-handed sort of voice. Ella jumped and whirled, trying to hide her shame, though the tipped book _thunked_ back into place behind her. She thought Wolf might have looked up. She really, _really_ hoped he hadn’t looked up.

“Yeah,” Ella said, clearing her throat, and then more definitively, “yes.”

Josephine smiled knowingly. “Well, then. Shall we take a late lunch? We have arrangements to discuss.” She tapped the bookshelf with the end of her pen. “And I believe you should get out of the store for a while.”

“You’re right.” Ella admitted grudgingly, following her friend toward the front door. She fought the urge to glance over at Wolf, who was most definitely probably just reading and not looking.

Josie led them to Dagna’s across the street, but not to the bar where they usually sat for lunch; no, they went straight for the War Table. Dagna popped out of the kitchen as they passed, holding some vaguely pasta-looking food toward which Ella felt simultaneously repulsed and intrigued. “Afternoon! Just the two of you today?”

“Yes. May we have the usual?” Josie slid into the booth, gesturing for Ella to take the opposite side.

She did, albeit hesitantly. “Leliana and Cullen aren’t going to join us?”

“Not this time.” Josie pulled a tablet out of her ever-present bag and set it on the table. “Leliana is sealing a new deal and Cullen’s on night shift. Besides, there’s something we need to talk about.”

Ella braced for yet another lecture, hoping this one was less dire than Ominous Viv but as funny as Donut Sera. Her phone buzzed in her pocket; a new text message. Yeah, that one would have to wait.

“I wanted to apologize for what I said Thursday night.” Josie blurted, fiddling with the edges of the tablet. “You work so hard at the store and in the game-” she laughed in response to Ella’s cough. Apparently this topic was important enough to override NOGAW. “And flirting might be good for you, just be careful. Wolf is...older than you.”

“I noticed.” Ella raised her eyebrows, expecting a more impactful message. “And he’s made it abundantly clear that he only wants to be friends.”

Josie frowned as Dagna set the customary coffees and sandwiches on the table. “No, I mean,” she pursed her lips, “if you think he isn’t interested, you should look more closely.” She paused. “And courting someone older is complicated.”

“Like Cal?” Ella eyed her boss over the rim of her coffee cup.

Josephine cleared her throat. “I _am_ speaking from personal experience, yes.”

They finished their food in silence, a tired acknowledgement of mutual cowardice. As the big wall clock ticked closer to three o’clock, Josie slid the tablet across the table.

“The other problem. Hotel arrangements for FADEcon,” She said, spitting the last word like venom, which it probably was to her at this point. She pointed to the floor layout with the end of her fork. “We reserved five rooms in advance, all next to each other, but now there are eight guild members attending. There are no more vacancies.”

Ella squinted at the rooms. “So? Leliana and I can take one. You and Sera could have another.” Josie groaned. “Oh, what? It’s only one night.”

“I suppose,” Josie relented, marking down the rooms with their initials and grumbling, “She’d better not try anything with the pillows this year.” Ella took the opportunity to check her phone.

She dropped the remnants of her sandwich and bolted for the door, leaving Josephine to grab the tablet and pay the bill. Ella made it to the sidewalk just in time to see Leliana driving away, waving apologetically out the driver’s side window.

“Ellana! What’s gotten into you?” Josie yelled, but stopped when she saw the Taurus zooming over a hill. “Ah.” She scanned the small parking lot in front of The Crossroads. “And Sera didn’t drive today.”

“Because of course she didn’t,” Ella said, defeated, and trudged back across the street. “Sorry to run off like that.”

Josie kept pace, shaking her head emphatically. “No, I understand. Let’s hope she closes that deal before closing.”

The front door slammed behind them; it was only by pure luck that there were no customers at the front. Ella erased the disjointed beginning of a long, angry text; that wouldn't help.

“Leliana left in a hurry.” Cole informed them on arrival.

“She looked right frenzied.” Sera added.

Ella passed them by and went straight for a lounge couch to begin the composition of another, less impulsive message. Josie explained the situation in the background, earning sympathy from Cole and disgust from Sera.

“Who strands their friend at work over a deal? What kind of carrying contract is this, anyway?” Sera huffed, putting both elbows up on the checkout counter. “Listen, Quiz, I can take my bike home at closing and come back to pick you up, yeah?”

“We’ll _both_ be late for raiding if you do that.” Ella erased another potential text that sounded a little too passive-aggressive. “I can just stick around until she gets back.”

Josie made a disapproving grunt. “Your safety and transportation are more important than the game.” Cole and Sera both inhaled sharply.

“Trouble?” Wolf’s voice stilled everyone present; mostly because they’d all forgotten he was there. He approached the counter with the careless swagger of someone who could solve most problems. “I could always take Ellana home. That way no one will be late.”

Sera leaned forward on her elbows. “You’re creepy, but I need gear.”

“That would work,” Ella said, keeping her head down and typing furiously on her phone’s keyboard, “if that’s really all right with you, Wolf.”

He laughed. “I wouldn’t offer otherwise.”

Josephine looked him over with narrow, appraising eyes before returning to her office. Ella knew that Josie wanted to remain impartial to the decision-making; she couldn’t blame her boss for comparing Cal to Wolf. They _did_ have remarkably similar evasion techniques.

And of course Leliana didn’t return before closing. She never did with contracts that required the car. Those were special and secret and Ella was pretty sure they involved cloaks and daggers.

She sat with her head on her desk, cheek pressed against the wood to stare intently at her phone screen. Leliana had never answered her texts before a deal was done before, but maybe _this_ time would be different. A long list of carefully composed messages stared back at her, all unread.

As exciting as it sounded to ride in a car with Wolf again, Ella distinctly remembered that last time had led to the world’s most awkward makeout followed by history’s most aggressive emotional backpedaling. In the presence of others their dynamic worked fine, but alone, well - it was all too easy for them to get trapped in an over-familiarity bubble.

At four fifty-five she slunk out of her office, trying for a casual walk that ended up more like a stiff parade march. She grabbed the store keys from Leliana’s desk and weighed the potential consequences of rearranging the filing system. Sweet revenge, yes, but Ella couldn’t really afford to lose any more bras that month.

Wolf waited patiently by the front door, one hand holding a book in front of his face and the other tucked behind his back. Cole studied him while locking up the registers but said nothing.

“Hey, sorry you had to close by yourself,” Ella said, gesturing to Sera’s empty counter space. “You don’t have to cover for her every time, you know.”

Cole shrugged as he tidied up his coworker’s area. “It was important. I don’t mind helping.”

Ella shifted from one foot to the other, unsure if she should push the topic. Either Cole was the most genuinely altruistic person she’d ever met, or he was unfamiliar with manipulation. It was probably a bit of both. She gave him a reassuring pat on the shoulder as he left, resolving to have a good long talk with Sera about exploitation in the workplace.

“Shall we?” Wolf asked pleasantly, snapping his book closed and setting it on the return pile and holding the door open when she nodded. Some of the dread in her stomach slipped away as she crossed the threshold and locked up; memories, maybe, of the last time the two of them were alone in the store.

“Thanks for doing this,” Ella said as he led the way to his car. She lagged a few steps behind him, trying to stuff her keys and scarf into her bag with nervous hands. The weirdness would go away in time, she told herself.

Wolf matched stride with her, smiling down at her efforts. “What are friends for?”

“Crisis control, evidently.” Ella zipped the bag shut and slipped into the passenger seat, pulling out her phone when it vibrated.

 

“Something unpleasant?” Wolf’s eyes cut to her phone briefly as he started the engine.

“No,” Ella said reflexively, stuffing her phone into her jacket pocket. She didn’t want to know what kind of expression she was making, and she sure as hell wished that Wolf hadn’t seen it. After a few moments of silence she amended her answer. “Yes.”

He hummed thoughtfully. “Well, we don’t have to discuss it if you’re not comfortable. It seems to be weighing on you, however.”

 _That’s not the only thing_ , she thought irritably. Ella held her phone up, showing the message chain as evidence. “Nothing huge. My mother likes to remind me how much I disappoint her.”

His brows knit together in concern. As they pulled up to a red light, he turned toward her in his seat. “I apologize for bringing up such a negative subject.”

“ _Negative_?” Ella shook her head. “I love my life now. If my parents had their way, I’d be in an expensive school halfway around the world listening to some dusty lecture.” She cleared her throat, adding hastily, “Uh, no offense.”

Wolf grinned. “None taken. I admit that my lectures can be a bit _dusty_.” He straightened his posture, tapping his fingers on the steering wheel in contemplation. “Would you like to make a short detour? I promise you’ll still be home on time.”

She looked over at him for clarification; in true Wolf fashion, none was offered. “Where?”

He muffled a chuckle with the sleeve of his sweater. “So distrustful. Did you learn that from Dr. de Fer?” He tilted his head, mouth twisted into an impish smirk. “It’s a surprise.”

Ella leaned over, intrigued, the phone in her lap forgotten. “Sure,” she said.


	14. This is definitely a good idea

 

 

There were always certain neighborhoods that, when Ellana drove through them, she had to constantly guess how expensive the houses were and how long she'd have to work to afford one. This was one such area, full of multi-story estates that screamed, "I'm full of rich old people!" right down to each environmentally irresponsible, perfectly landscaped lawn. She squinted until they blended together into a kaleidoscope of AstroTurf and ceramic gnomes.

It took a minute to dawn on her that they weren't just passing through this neighborhood; it was their destination. Wolf pulled into a long driveway that ended in a home Ella might have deemed extravagant if not for the cracked sidewalks and overgrown front yard.

" _This_ is your house?" Ella asked blankly, staring at him like this all might be some joke.

"Yes." Wolf grinned. “But it isn’t the surprise.”

She climbed out of the car, feeling her way along since her eyes were still glued to the two-story Victorian looming over her. “The Homeowners’ Association must hate you.” She almost tripped on the porch steps, righting herself on a questionably stable railing.

“Oh, they do.” He looked over his shoulder before unlocking the front door, as if the mere mention of the name could summon them. “This house is right across the county border, so even though it’s still part of the neighborhood, it’s outside their jurisdiction.” Ella could imagine his self-satisfied smile.

She followed him through a sparsely decorated entryway into an equally barren living room; a few packed bookshelves, a computer desk, and a dozen half-empty cardboard boxes lined one wall, but the rest of the room was empty. Not exactly the aesthetic she’d pictured. “Did you just move in?” She asked, gesturing to the boxes.

“Ah. No.” Wolf smiled unconvincingly. “I spend most of my time at the office or in the game, so there was never much need to decorate.” He pulled out the computer chair at his desk. “Please sit. I’ll be right back with the surprise.”

Ella lowered herself into the chair, watching his hasty retreat with uncertainty. She’d accepted his explanation of the car, but this house on an adjunct’s salary? No way. A small voice in the back of her mind offered that he might have different financial priorities. _He might have made sacrifices in other areas and saved up for a down payment. You don’t know his life._ She swiveled in the chair, pushing her doubts away as best as she could.

Wolf’s avatar was on the computer screen, sitting idly in Skyhold, Inquisition’s guildhall. Ellana pulled herself up to the desk, noting the red bar in the corner of his HUD. Auto-crafting. So _that’s_ how he kept up with the ever-increasing max level. She stretched her fingers out over his keyboard, giggling at the chance to make mischief.

 

[dreadwolf] says: buuuuuh i’m wolf, i’m serious and i never make mistakes

[dreadwolf] says: i love every horrible staff design

[Calogera] says: ???

[officialvarrictethras] says: At least you’re self-aware.

**[Friend List][Flemeth] has logged in**

[fiddle-flumper] says: ok but what have you done with quiz, shes not home yet

 

Ella snorted,  turning her last message into more of a key-smash. She erased it, figuring that Wolf’s eventual explanation of this would be enough of a punishment. She scooted the chair back away from the desk, but a sudden chain of whispers caught her interest.

 

_[Flemeth] whispers: Are you there? We should talk._

[lionheart73] says: Quiz isn’t coming to raiding?

[fiddle-flumper] says: wolf answer me you creeper

[nightingale] says: She’ll be here, lion

_[Flemeth] whispers: Andy and Gil won’t be the only ones at the con. They’re planning something._

_[Flemeth] whispers: Tell me when you get this._

 

She pushed herself backwards with her feet, averting her eyes from the chat log. _Way to pry into his business_. And Sera called _him_ a creeper. Ella folded her hands in her lap and turned her back to the computer, guilt gnawing a hole in her stomach. Why’d she always have to be impulsive in the worst way possible? Wolf’s friends from outside the guild were none of her business.

“Sorry for the wait.” Wolf rounded the corner with a stack of folders, notebooks, and small boxes. He set the lot down in front of her, then sat on the opposite side of it. She made to stand, but he stopped her with a raised hand. “You’re my guest. I wouldn’t dream of making you sit on the floor.”

Ella hummed as he handed her one of the folders. “How polite of you.” She flipped it open, tilting her head at the picture within. “This is the surprise? An,” she turned it sideways, “office building?”

Wolf grunted in disbelief, pointing to the sign on the building. “Not just _any_ office building. This is where FADEonline was developed.”

She brought the picture closer to her face. “Evanuris,” she murmured, and recognition sparked her memory. “The company that owned it before the merger!” She changed her grip on the picture, holding the edges tenderly. “Wow, how did you get this?”

“All of the beta players were invited to visit.” Wolf smiled at her excitement, handing her another folder. “We expected a few hundred, but there were almost a thousand.”

Ella opened it; inside was a second picture, this time of a staggering number of people arranged in front of the building. They were all gathered around seven who stood apart in the middle. “Woah, the mods!” She exclaimed, trying to identify each one. “They look so young! Is that Myth?” She focused on a tall woman at the end of the row, composed and elegant.

“Yes.” Wolf answered quietly.

“I wish I’d been playing when she and Fen were around.” Ella scanned the rest of the crowd for familiar faces, but found none.

He nodded. “It was a better era.”

She dug around in the stack of photos until she came to one that froze her to the chair. A young man with an unmistakably angular face stared up at her, pushing long auburn hair out of his face. He wore a brown leather jacket and a smirk as he posed playfully for the camera. “Holy. Shit. Is this _you_?”

Wolf grimaced and reached for the picture. “Younger and less wise, yes.” He shook his head as if reprimanding his past self. “Please give that back.”

Ella, snickering, evaded his grasp and held the picture over her head. “No way. This is major. You were hot!”

He pulled himself to his knees using the arms of the chair, trying and failing to keep his face serious. A smirk not unlike the one in the picture slanted his mouth and he asked, mock-insulted, “ _Were_?”

The sudden pressure on her legs brought Ella’s attention down from her prize. She found herself, for the second time that week, uncomfortably close to Wolf’s face. Her breath hitched in her throat. When he reached for the photo this time, she released it without a fight. Josephine’s warnings played on loop in her mind.

Wolf must have been putting up the same defenses, because he slid the picture neatly back into its folder and retreated to his position on the floor. He cleared his throat and Ella pretended not to see the rosy blush spreading across his cheeks. “Well. I made many unfortunate decisions when I was younger, stylistic and otherwise.”

_Me, too,_ she almost answered, _except I’m still making them._

Instead, she laughed awkwardly and tried not to think of the snooping she did mere minutes prior. “It was a good surprise, though. Thanks.”

His face refocused at her words. “ _This_ is the surprise,” he said, handing her a small box from the pile. “I’d hoped it would cheer you up.”

It took a few moments for Ella to remember what he could possibly be referencing, and then it hit her. The text messages. “Oh,” she said, rotating the box in her hands as she spoke, “I fight with my mom all the time. It’s no big deal.” When she looked up hesitantly, the knowing smile on his face told her that he knew it was, in fact, a big deal. _Damn him and his Leliana-like perception._

“Nevertheless, I’d like you to have this. It’s only collecting dust here.” Wolf made a great show of checking the time on his computer, then added, “We’d better get going if you want to be on time for raiding.”

“Yeah,” Ella agreed. “I’ll never hear the end of it if I’m late again.”

 

 

 

She held her phone in one hand to reply since the other one held the mysterious Surprise. Its metal box was decorated with intricate carving indicative of high-end FADEonline merchandise. She noticed Wolf watching her from his peripheral vision as he pulled out onto the highway.

“The gift is inside the box,” he advised.

Ella held up her phone. “Just updating Night.” She swallowed a laugh when he shifted in his seat. Impatient Wolf was proving to be shockingly adorable. She stored the phone in a cup holder and unhooked the box’s clasp, sneaking a sideways glance as she lifted the lid. Wolf met her gaze, coughed, and returned his attention to the road.

“Woah,” she sighed the word, gently lifting a detailed wooden jawbone from the box’s velvet lining. She ran a finger over every dip and ridge in its surface as she turned it over in the sunlight. “Fen’s necklace! This is so iconic! How did you…?”

“It was a gift from my former co-workers.” Wolf smiled, perhaps at a memory. “How did you know about Fen?”

Ella slipped the necklace over her head. “The wiki. FADE has a lot of history.” She hesitated, then continued, “By co-workers, do you mean the friends you went into business with?” Wolf hadn’t established any personal boundaries regarding his past. She hoped the question wasn't too invasive.

His mouth flattened into a line. “Yes.” The hand gripping the steering wheel tightened momentarily around it.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to-”

“It’s all right.” He wiped the darkness off his face, instead offering her a warm smile. “As you said, it’s ‘no big deal.’” He touched the jawbone with one light fingertip. “It looks good on you.”    

Ella felt her face reddening and tried everything in her power to reverse the process. “Thanks.” She looked down to hide her grin. “And thanks for giving it to me.”    

“It suits you much better than Fen.” He smirked at her subsequent incredulous laughter. “Isn’t this your street?”

She looked sharply up at the street sign, disappointment plain in her eyes. “Yeah. Man, you live pretty close.” She found herself toying with the jawbone again. “Guess we won’t be late for raiding.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It lives! Thank you to all the comments and tumblr asks that pushed me to work on this again!
> 
> 4/25: Minor grammatical/word choice edits. I teared up reading the comments on this chapter!! You guys are amazing and thank you again for giving me the motivation to keep going :D


	15. Asking the real questions

**[Inquisition] has successfully completed [The Temple of Mythal]**

[lionheart73] says: gj everyone

[The_Iron_Bull] says: Time???

[Lady-of-the-Ice] says: Strange choice for a raid night dungeon.

[Calogera] says: 36:44

[fiddle-flumper] says: yea we wont break any records in puzzle hell

[Inquisitor] says: sorry lady, i’ve been thinking about Myth today

_[Lady-of-the-Ice] whispers: It’s no trouble, dear. A low-stress evening is always appreciated._

[bloodforged] says: The puzzles aren’t hard. There are just CERTAIN PEOPLE not coordinating…

[The_Iron_Bull] says: still, not a bad clear time! See you guys later

[scribblemancer] says: As always, please deposit all unwanted loot in the guildhall chest

[Inquisitor] says: bye, bull!

**[The_Iron_Bull] has logged out**

_To [Lady-of-the-Ice]: <3_

[fiddle-flumper] says: two minutes is too damn long for standin around in a box, forge

[officialvarrictethras] says: Curious about the old mods, Bookworm?

[dreadwolf] says: We were discussing them earlier

[Calogera] says: The dungeon is over. Take the bickering to whispers.

[Inquisitor] says: yeah. I missed that whole era, had to read the wiki

[fiddle-flumper] says: oi he started it

[bloodforged] says: My pert little ass, I did.

[officialvarrictethras] says: I know someone who can tell you more about them, if you want…

_[fiddle-flumper] whispers: oH rEAllY what else did you discuss eh_

[Calogera] says: ENOUGH.

**[Lady-of-the-Ice] has logged out**

_To [fiddle-flumper]: we were just hanging out and talking about early fo stuff >:(_

[bloodforged] says: Fine.

[Inquisitor] says: sure, that sounds like fun, varric!

[fiddle-flumper] says: f i n e

[scribblemancer] says: So, no one wants to come claim any loot, then? >_>

**[officialvarrictethras] has invited you to a party**

[officialvarrictethras] says: You want in on this, Wolf? You’re a pretty ancient player, yourself.

[fiddle-flumper] says: i know right

[dreadwolf] says: No, thank you, I have several essays left to grade. Have a good evening, everyone.

[officialvarrictethras] says: Suit yourself, buddy.

_To [dreadwolf]: night :)_

[Inquisitor] says: gonna mute the chat for this guys

**[hawke] has joined the party**

_[dreadwolf] whispers: goodnight :)_

**[Party]** [officialvarrictethras] says: Evening, Hawke. Got some time?

**[Party]** [hawke] says: always got time for my favorite guildhopper B)

**[Party]** [officialvarrictethras] says: Great, because Quiz here wants to know about the old mods, and you were online during The Incident.

**[Party]** [hawke] says: oh jeez i don’t remember that shit

**[Party]** [Inquisitor] says: the incident??

**[Party]** [hawke] says: ok, how about this. i’ll tell you but in return you gotta tell me how you rascals keep beating our clear times

**[Party]** [Inquisitor] says: Deal

**[Party]** [officialvarrictethras] says: You’re gonna be disappointed when the secret is basic communication skills.

**[Party]** [Inquisitor] says: SHHH the deal is already made

**[Party]** [hawke] says: i’m gonna need backup on this

**[daisy_mage] has joined the party**

**[bootyseeker] has joined the party**

**[Party]** [officialvarrictethras] says: Okay, but why did we need HER as well?

**[Party]** [bootyseeker] says: ayy lmao

**[Party]** [hawke] says: she’s pretty

**[Party]** [daisy_mage] says: She is quite pretty :3

**[Party]** [officialvarrictethras] says: Hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

**[Party]** [bootyseeker] says: the people have spoken

**[Party]** [daisy_mage] says: Why are we here, Hawke? Hello, Varric!

**[Party]** [Inquisitor] says: I was hoping you guys could tell me about “““the incident”””

**[Party]** [hawke] says: daisy’s an expert in fo history. she could prolly teach a class on it

**[Party]** [officialvarrictethras] says: Evening, Daisy.

**[Party]** [daisy_mage] says: Oh! I’d be happy to tell you about that ^^ how much do you know already?

**[Party]** [Inquisitor] says: uhh…. pretty much nothing..

**[Party]** [hawke] says: same

**[Party]** [daisy_mage] says: Well, you know that before TevTech bought the company, Evanuris had eight developers. It’s incorrect that the shorthand for them now is “old mods” since they weren’t mods at the time. Also, when they did become mods, the position never changed, so why did it become popular to call them “old?”

**[Party]** [officialvarrictethras] says: Stay on target, Daisy.

**[Party]** [daisy_mage] says: Right. Anyway.

**[Party]** [daisy_mage] says: Most of the devs shared their duties equally, except for the two newest hires, Gil and Fen, who did art and design, respectively. The Incident happened when Myth left the company. Oh, Myth leaving wasn’t the problem, I should say. She got a better offer from another studio. BUT,

**[Party]** [hawke] says: then fen went and fucked it all up

**[Party]** [daisy_mage] says: Hawke!!! You ruined the story!!

**[Party]** [bootyseeker] says: same

**[Party]** [hawke] says: sorry, sorry

**[Party]** [Inquisitor] says: i always hear Fen ruined the game but the wiki doesn’t say anything about it. what did he do?

**[Party]** [hawke] says: everything

**[Party]** [daisy_mage] says: He left after Myth, but instead of leaving peacefully, he took all of his design work with him - the groundwork for FO for the next year at least. The rest of the devs had to scramble to fill in what he took, and that’s the reason people generally dislike the content in Patch 3. It was all last-minute work, and it shows.

**[Party]** [Inquisitor] says: damn. they couldn’t do anything legally?

**[Party]** [daisy_mage] says: No one knows the specifics, but no legal action was taken. Subs went way down after that, and it’s probably the reason TevTech had to step in. There was a huge divide in the userbase over it. Tev drew in a lot of new players, like you, but it lost a lot of loyal players by moving away from Fen’s vision for the game.

**[Party]** [hawke] says: he basically burned the house down on the way out

**[Party]** [daisy_mage] says: Do you have any questions?

**[Party]** [Inquisitor] says: No...i can’t believe this isn’t more widely known. thank you for telling me!

**[Party]** [daisy_mage] says: You’re welcome, and nice meeting you~ I’m happy to talk game lore any time :D

**[daisy_mage] has invited you to their friends list**

**[Party]** [hawke] says: now i must go before pounce and vin kill each other. mail me your dungeon secrets, quizzy <3

**[hawke]** **has left the party**

**[Party]** [Inquisitor] says: nice meeting you too!

**[Party]** [daisy_mage] says: I’d better run damage control...see you later, Varric!

**[daisy_mage] has left the party**

**[Party]** [bootyseeker] says: ngl im just gonna watch

**[bootyseeker] has left the party**

**[Party]** [officialvarrictethras] says: Well? Was it informative?

**[Party]** [Inquisitor] says: yeah lol, you sure do make some interesting friends.

**[Party]** [officialvarrictethras] says: I know, right? One group of weirdos to another. I’m going to get some writing in before bed.

**[Party]** [Inquisitor] says: thanks for this. see you later :)

**[officialvarrictethras] has disbanded the party**

 

The screen went dark for a moment as the game closed out, and Ella caught a glimpse of herself in the monitor; tired, drooping, and still wearing the jawbone necklace. She lifted it gently over her head and set it down next to her keyboard. As useful as Daisy’s information had been, it left her even more confused as to why there wasn’t more information about Fen floating around the Internet. Maybe the former members of Evanuris didn’t want to air their dirty laundry out to the players.

“Hey, you didn’t say goodnight!” Leliana called from across the hall. “I bet Cal’s disappointed that she didn’t get to confirm it in the chat.”

Ella laughed. “Sorry. Some people from Champions distracted me with lore.”

“Ah. I’ll tell her,” Leliana said, then added a little anxiously, “Get some sleep tonight, okay?”

Of course she’d noticed the sleeping problems. “I will!” Ella replied, and shut her door. She did her best to get comfortable in her bed, but her phone’s constant, flashing reminder light kept her from resting. Even if she rolled over, she could still picture the screen fading in and out, displaying an unread message from Wolf.

She was in no hurry to open it; residual guilt and anxiety over reading his chatlog still coiled uncomfortably in her gut. What bothered her more, though, was her wild curiosity over this player, Flemeth, and their information that Andy and Gil were “plotting something” for FADEcon. Ella knew logically that it was none of her business, but her damned nosy brain just wouldn’t let it go.

After an hour of tossing and turning, she grabbed her phone from its charging stand and, instead of opening Wolf’s message, dialed up Vivienne.

“Hello, Ellana. It’s rather late for a social call.” Viv sounded tired, and Ella realized belatedly that it must be past midnight. “Is everything all right?”

“Yeah. Sorry.” She mentally kicked herself. “We can talk tomorrow, if that would be better.”

Viv laughed, its confident tone doing much to alleviate Ella’s worries. “Nonsense, darling. You wouldn’t have called if it wasn’t important. Tell me.”

“I was thinking about what you told me,” Ella said, “about Wolf.”

“Oh, about how little information there is to be found about him, and how that only happens when one has something to hide?” Vivienne asked, voice light despite the accusation.

_No_ , Ella almost replied, then stopped. She couldn’t deny that he _was_ probably hiding something. That his cryptic behavior might be more than just a personality trait. “Yes,” she said instead. “Do you know a FADE player named Flemeth?”

“Flemeth?” Vivienne went silent for a while. “I’m sure I’ve heard that name before, but I can’t place it. Why?”

“I saw part of his chatlog while I was at his house today,” Ella said quickly, then continued to divert Viv’s attention, “and Flemeth was talking like she and Wolf knew Andy and Gil.”

The strategy worked. “That’s certainly troubling, since the mods claim to have no personal relationships with any players.” Vivienne spoke with the same severe intonation she would use to chastise a student. “Have you asked Dr. Argall about this?”

“No. Not yet,” Ella clarified. “I haven’t known him that long and this all might be in my head, you know? Maybe he’s just a private person and I’m prying - I mean, who cares if he knows some of the mods-”

“Ellana,” Viv interrupted, “you’ve known the man for a month and all you’ve learned about him is his address and last name.”

_I’ve learned he’s a good kisser._ That probably wouldn’t go over well. “I learned...what kind of car he drives,” Ella answered weakly. _And that he doesn’t have an eye for interior design._

“What’s his favorite color? Favorite food? Where did he grow up? What kind of music does he like? Where did he work before Montsimmard?” Vivienne fired off one after the other, though Ella got the impression that her last question was personally motivated. “Listen,” she added more softly, “I know you’re worried about being invasive. But twenty years of being a professor has taught me how to read people, and I see dishonesty all over that man.”

“He could have a reason for it,” Ella managed in his defense. Because of her family’s attitudes, she also fancied herself good at reading emotion and intent, and she’d never picked up on anything malicious from Wolf.

Vivienne sighed. “I’m sure he does, dear; they always do.”

“Do you think I should ask him about Flemeth?”

“I can’t answer that for you,” Viv counseled, “but make sure you don’t get in too deep before you decide, all right?”

Ella laughed wryly. “No danger of that. Trust me.”

“Goodnight, Ellana.” The call cut to silence and Ella was left to ponder her situation alone.

She returned her phone to the bedside table and leaned back into her pillows, letting herself sink into the mattress. It finally, _finally_ felt comfortable there; she drifted into a dreamless sleep while making a list of reasons why Wolf might be so secretive.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trotting out that exposition *finger guns*


End file.
